Marathon Server Slam Goes Live Today as Bungie Opens Final Open Preview Ahead of March 5 Launch
The marathon Server Slam opens today, offering players a final open preview and technical stress test ahead of Marathon’s March 5 launch. The weekend-long event matters because Bungie will use the live traffic and player feedback to tune systems and roll out exclusive rewards that carry over to launch.
Marathon Server Slam Times and Platforms
The Server Slam runs from February 26 at 10 a. m. PT/1 p. m. ET and concludes on March 2 at 10 a. m. PT/1 p. m. ET, with identical start and end times each day. Players can join on Steam, PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S, with cross-play and cross-save enabled. Marathon will also appear as part of Steam Next Fest during the preview weekend.
Joe Ziegler’s 11 Tips and Game Informer Edit
Marathon game director Joe Ziegler shared 11 tips aimed at beginners ahead of the Server Slam; those tips were edited by Game Informer for clarity. The guidance is positioned as a foundation players can build on while they learn the mechanics of Marathon during the open preview.
Bungie’s Technical Stress Test: Cause and Effect
Bungie is treating the Server Slam as a global infrastructure exercise: the studio will turn everything on worldwide, invite as many players as possible and watch systems as players log in, crew up, infil, exfil, log out and repeat. Because the weekend is a technical stress test, Bungie will stand by throughout to monitor performance, address issues and make adjustments; when something breaks, that breakage becomes data the studio will use to improve the March 5 launch.
Gameplay, Setting and What’s Included This Weekend
Marathon is an extraction first‑person shooter set on the derelict colony of Tau Ceti IV. The game world places Runners against hostile UESC security forces in the year 2893, 99 years after the events of the original Marathon game and centuries after the colony’s establishment. During the Server Slam players will scavenge across maps featuring futuristic research facilities, lush forests and various enemies, fighting both other players and AI to extract with loot.
The Server Slam is a slice of the full game and will not include all maps and content headed to launch. Players will begin on the planet surface and can work toward the Cryo Archive—the first floor of the UESC Marathon that orbits above—but Cryo Archive is slated to launch during Season 1. At launch the game will add two more maps, including Outpost and Cryo Archive, and the sixth Runner Shell, Thief, will be available at launch but not in the Server Slam. Ranked mode and further seasonal content are scheduled to arrive in Season 1.
Rewards, Progression and Streaming Bonuses
Everyone who completes the introductory mission during the weekend will unlock a unique Beta. exe emblem and a Complex Study player background reserved for the first wave of Runners. Time spent during the Server Slam will also bank loot rewards for launch based on progression milestones: completing the first mission unlocks the Standard Arrival Cache; reaching Runner Level 10 unlocks the Enhanced Arrival Cache (Green); and reaching Runner Level 30 unlocks the Deluxe Arrival Cache (Blue). Cosmetic and loot rewards will be delivered after Marathon’s March 5 launch and may take some time to appear in players’ inboxes.
Streaming activity is also rewarded: viewers and streamers who tune in to Marathon broadcasts on Twitch during the Server Slam can claim a set of cosmetic rewards for launch. Full instructions for securing and claiming those streaming-linked cosmetics will be provided on support pages.
What makes this notable is that Bungie is combining a public playtest with a large-scale systems rehearsal, offering both immediate player access and concrete incentives—exclusive cosmetics and cached loot—that carry forward to the full game. The Server Slam thus functions both as an experiential preview and a practical rehearsal in the run-up to Marathon’s March 5 release.
