{"id":1173320,"date":"2026-02-13T12:19:15","date_gmt":"2026-02-13T12:19:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.polygon.com\/?p=556546"},"modified":"2026-02-13T12:19:15","modified_gmt":"2026-02-13T12:19:15","slug":"how-to-sign-up-for-the-marathon-alpha","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/arcader.org\/news\/how-to-sign-up-for-the-marathon-alpha\/","title":{"rendered":"How to sign up for the Marathon alpha"},"content":{"rendered":"
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The Marathon<\/a><\/em> alpha<\/strong> gives you a chance to play Bungie\u2019s forthcoming extraction shooter significantly ahead of its Sept. 23 release date<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Announced during Bungie\u2019s Marathon<\/em> stream on April 12, the Marathon<\/em> alpha allows you to check out four characters on two maps. Like most alpha tests, though, it also doubles as a technical stress test for the game, meaning you could run into connectivity issues and other hiccups.<\/p>\n

Below, we\u2019ll tell you how to sign up for the Marathon<\/em> alpha<\/strong>, including some other information about what to expect from the alpha.<\/p>\n

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How to sign up for the Marathon alpha<\/h2>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

Currently, the only way to get into the Marathon <\/em>alpha test is to join Bungie\u2019s Marathon<\/em> Discord<\/a>, which you can access via the following link: https:\/\/discord.gg\/marathonthegame<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s a step-by-step breakdown on how to sign up for the Marathon <\/em>alpha:<\/p>\n

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  1. Sign up for the Marathon <\/em>Discord<\/a> and agree to the rules.<\/li>\n
  2. Go to the #alpha_access<\/strong> chat and type \/alpha<\/strong>.<\/li>\n
  3. Watch for the Discord bot to ping you in the #new-noise chat and follow the custom link it offers.<\/li>\n
  4. Create a Bungie account if you don\u2019t have one, or sign into an existing account.<\/li>\n
  5. Select your platform of choice: PlayStation, Steam, or Xbox.<\/li>\n
  6. Thoroughly read and, if you\u2019re comfortable, accept the Marathon <\/em>alpha NDA.<\/li>\n
  7. Fill out the Marathon <\/em>survey, which asks you about your preferred platforms (including PC specs, if that\u2019s your choice), your experience with past Bungie games, and your familiarity with PvP games like Marathon<\/em>.<\/li>\n
  8. Close out of the survey and return to the original tab to confirm that you\u2019ve been signed up for the alpha.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    In a post-script on the survey, Bungie notes completing the form enters you into \u201ca pool\u201d of prospective players but does not guarantee access to the alpha. Codes will be sent to players the week of April 14, and throughout the runtime of the alpha.<\/p>\n

    It\u2019s possible Bungie could add more methods to get Marathon <\/em>alpha access in the future, but the studio hasn\u2019t announced anything like that just yet.<\/p>\n

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    When does the Marathon alpha start and end?<\/h2>\n

    The alpha will start on Wednesday, April 23, at 10 a.m. PDT and run through Sunday, May 4, at 10 a.m. PDT<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

    Bungie said in a FAQ on its website that this particular alpha is focused on North America and only available to players ages 18 or older. Codes are locked to your particular Bungie account and thus can\u2019t be given away or sold. Access will also not come with friend codes, although players will be able to group up with others who\u2019ve been selected.<\/p>\n

    If you are selected for the Marathon <\/em>alpha, you\u2019ll get an email with instructions on how to download the game, which is about 6 GB. Curious about the PC specs? See them here<\/a>!<\/p>\n

    Bungie also confirmed that there will be additional opportunities to play Marathon <\/em>ahead of its Sept. 23 release date. All account progress will be wiped between the alpha test and any the game\u2019s launch.<\/p>\n

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    What to expect from the Marathon alpha<\/h2>\n

    \"A<\/p>\n

    We were able to play the Marathon <\/em>alpha early as part of a media and creator preview event at Bungie HQ, though some aspects might be different than the public alpha.<\/p>\n

    During our playtime, we were able to check out two different maps: Perimeter<\/strong> and Dire Marsh<\/strong>. Perimeter is a smaller, early game map, where Dire Marsh pits six squads of three against each other in a large campus.<\/p>\n

    There were a wide variety of different weapons and items in our tests, including golden legendary items with powerful unique effects \u2014 although they were quite rare. It\u2019s unclear if Bungie is holding back some weapon types for the full game, but the studio did confirm in a Q&A that there are unique weapon mods we weren\u2019t able to play with.<\/p>\n

    We had access to four Runners \u2014 what Marathon<\/em> calls its heroes \u2014 in the alpha:<\/p>\n