Marathon is getting a major experimental update as Bungie begins testing a new duo mode, giving players another way to experience the extraction shooter.
Marathon
Release Date: March 05, 2026
Genres: Shooter
The public test starts on March 18, 2026, and while the feature launches with restrictions and known rough edges, it signals that Bungie is actively responding to player feedback.
TL;DR – Marathon Duo Mode Test
- New feature: Experimental duo mode
- Test start: March 18, 2026, at 10:00 a.m. PT
- Restrictions: Perimeter only, duos vs duos, no solo fill
- Testing focus: Core viability, queue times, player behavior
- Main takeaway: Bungie is continuing to support and improve Marathon
After a rocky start, developers of Marathon are not giving up and aim to slowly but steadily turn the game into something players may genuinely enjoy.
New Experimental Features Coming to Marathon
Marathon, an extraction shooter from Bungie, turned out to be much less popular than anticipated, but it wasn’t a complete flop; it’s certainly not shaping up to be Concord 2.0, and that’s great news for the players.
According to data from Steam, Marathon had around 90,000 players at launch. Now, two weeks after release, there are still over 50,000 players in the game at any given time, and the reviews sit at 90% positive, which is far from being a disaster some people believed it would be.
Perhaps that’s why, instead of terminating the project, Bungie decided to keep going and improve the core experience, hoping that they could win the players back.
As a part of this strategy, Joe Ziegler from Bungie announced on Twitter/X that the studio will now be testing a duo mode, giving players an alternative way of enjoying the game if they can’t find a third player for their pre-made teams.
Duo Mode Rules During Testing
As mentioned by Joe, the new mode will come with certain restrictions during the testing phase:
- Playing in duos will be available only on the Perimeter map,
- You will be matched exclusively against other duos,
- There will be no solo matching in duos, which means you’ll be able to enter only as part of a pre-made party of two people.
These restrictions are not final and are subject to change in the final version.
Marathon Duos Mode Will Not Be Polished on Launch
During the testing phase, you may encounter bugs, optimization issues, and other problems. Bungie’s idea was to test the core gameplay concept and whether it would be viable to add it to the game or not.
Gameplay balance was not a priority at this time, so don’t act surprised if you find loot distribution or combat frequency a bit off.
You might need to deal with unfair balance and unusual map pacing, but these things will be taken care of at a later date, assuming the mode gets the green light after testing.
Is Two-Player Co-Op in Marathon a Good Idea?
As of now, Marathon allows players to play either solo or in parties of three. The lack of duos was criticized by players, as duo parties can be commonly found in other, similar games. It’s a great middle-ground for those who want to play with a friend but can’t find the third player.
However, now that Bungie begins the tests, another group of players began to voice their concerns, focusing primarily on the issue of splitting the already thin playerbase, which could lead to longer matchmaking queues.
The testing is meant to give Bungie answers to various questions, including this one. During the testing, the studio will see exactly how duos affect queue times. It’s safe to assume that it will be one of the deciding factors for whether the duo mode should stay or not.
Why the Duo Public Test in Marathon Is a Big Deal – Purpose and Future
The purpose of the test is to check whether adding duos to Marathon will be worth it or not. The team wants to test the core systems and infrastructure before it commits to developing a proper version of the new mode, taking into account issues such as multiplayer balancing and queue times.
What makes this whole thing important is the fact that it shows that Bungie is willing to make changes that players asked for.
Developers are not turning players down, and they’re open to jumping into the player feedback loop; it looks like the studio wants to make a genuinely fun game that people care about. And we know that when developers fully commit to something, they’re able to work miracles, as seen with No Man’s Sky and Cyberpunk 2077.
Joe Ziegler confirmed in his post that the team is already planning to run more experiments to test new upcoming features and see how they’d affect the game, so we can only imagine what else is in store for Marathon’s future.
When Does the Test for the Duo Mode Begin?
According to Joe Ziegler, the testing of the new mode in Marathon is scheduled to launch on March 18, 2026, at 10:00 a.m. PT (6:00 p.m. CET) and is planned to last about 2 weeks.
The duration can be subject to change, so make sure to follow the official announcements if you’re interested in participating in the tests. See you in the game!