Marathon Server Slam Goes Live Today
marathon’s Server Slam opens today as an open preview weekend and technical stress test ahead of the game’s March 5 launch on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S and PC. The weekend runs from February 26 at 10 AM PT/1 p. m. ET to March 2 at 10 AM PT/1 p. m. ET, and Marathon game director Joe Ziegler shared 11 tips for beginners ahead of the event.
Marathon Server Slam schedule
The Server Slam begins February 26 at 10 AM PT and ends March 2 at 10 AM PT, the same start and end times both days. Players can jump in on Steam, PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S with cross-play and cross-save enabled. Marathon is also part of Steam Next Fest for the weekend.
What Bungie calls a stress test
Bungie describes the Server Slam as a technical stress test: the studio is "turning everything on worldwide, inviting as many of you in as we can, and then watching the systems closely" while players log in, crew up, infil, exfil, log out, repeat. The team will be standing by throughout the weekend to address issues, monitor performance, and make adjustments as needed. As the studio puts it, "When something breaks, that is data we can use to make our launch on March 5 all the better. "
Tips from the game director
Joe Ziegler has shared 11 tips for beginners to keep in mind ahead of the Server Slam; those tips were edited for clarity. The tips are meant as a foundation for players entering Tau Ceti during the preview weekend, and the Server Slam is described as a slice of Marathon rather than the full game.
Rewards and progression details
Everyone who completes the introductory mission during the weekend will unlock a unique Beta. exe emblem and a Complex Study player background exclusive to Server Slam participants. Time spent during the Slam will also bank loot rewards for launch, delivered once Marathon launches on March 5. The progression rewards are tiered by progress:
- Complete your first mission: Unlock the Standard Arrival Cache
- Reach Runner Level 10: Unlock the Enhanced Arrival Cache (Green)
- Reach Runner Level 30: Unlock the Deluxe Arrival Cache (Blue)
Developers warn it will take some time to roll out rewards after launch, so if players log in and don’t immediately see items in their inbox, they should hold tight. Players who watch streamers on Twitch during the Server Slam will also be able to snag a set of cosmetic rewards for launch; full claim instructions will be available on support pages.
Maps, setting and launch content
Marathon is an extraction first-person shooter set on the distant sci-fi world of Tau Ceti IV, a derelict space colony where Runners and hostile UESC security forces roam. The game’s timeline is the year 2893, 99 years after the events of the original Marathon game and hundreds of years since the establishment of the now-dead colony. Players will scavenge across maps that include futuristic research facilities and lush forests, battle both other players (PvP) and AI enemies (PvE), and work from the planet surface toward the Cryo Archive and the first floor of the UESC Marathon orbiting above.
The Server Slam will not include all maps and content coming to the main game—this is both a marketing beta and a server stress test—but offers a large chunk of the full game for a weekend of play. At launch, two additional maps will be available: Outpost and Cryo Archive, with Cryo Archive arriving during Season 1. The sixth Runner Shell, Thief, will also be available at launch but not during the Server Slam.
Season 1 and post-launch plans
When Marathon launches and Season 1 kicks off, players can expect additional zones, factions, contracts, gear, progression depth, Ranked mode and some secrets left for players to discover. Ranked arrives in Season 1 along with other planned additions beyond the preview weekend.
The Server Slam is positioned as a chance to play Marathon before launch and help spin up global infrastructure at scale for the first time. Players who participate this weekend will unlock exclusive cosmetics, bank loot for launch and experience the systems Bungie will refine in advance of the March 5 release.
