Your go-to guide to the Marathon open preview weekend.



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A lot has happened since Bungie originally held its alpha playtest for Marathon, which ultimately caused the developer to go back to the drawing board for almost an entire year. One thing's for sure: in that time, Embark has established a strong foothold in the extraction shooter genre with Arc Raiders. Nevertheless, it's time for the Marathon Server Slam to see whether Bungie's efforts have paid off.

Below, I'll go over the Marathon Server Slam date and time in your region, as well as all the unique rewards you can earn for participating. Remember, you can only earn these bonuses during this open preview weekend, so don't miss out.

The Marathon Server Slam test runs from Thursday, February 26, at 6 pm UTC to Monday, March 2, at 6 pm UTC, available on Steam, PS5, and Xbox Series X|S. This works out as the following times in each region:

Region

Start Date

End Date

US Pacific

10 am PST, February 26

10 am PST, March 2



US Eastern

1 pm EST, February 26

1 pm EST, March 2

UK

6 pm GMT, February 26

6 pm GMT, March 2

Central Europe

7 pm CET, February 26

7 pm CET, March 2

Australia

5 am AEDT, February 27

5 am AEDT, March 3

New Zealand

7 am NZDT, February 27

7 am NZDT, March 3

Importantly, this is a free preview weekend, with no sign-ups or pre-orders required. Just download the Server Slam from your chosen storefront when it goes live in your region.

By playing the Server Slam preview, you can earn cosmetic profile customisation, but also actual loot you can use when the full game comes out on March 5—no, you won't see these items during the preview weekend, but don't worry, it'll all be waiting for you.

All players who complete the introductory mission will unlock a unique emblem and player background to show that they've been here since day one. Well, the second attempt at day one, at least.

You'll also earn various items based on your progression during the Server Slam:

Keep up to date with the most important stories and the best deals, as picked by the PC Gamer team.

The preview weekend is only a section of Marathon's launch content. However, it's still got quite a bit to sink your teeth into:

2026 games: All the upcoming gamesBest PC games: Our all-time favoritesFree PC games: Freebie festBest FPS games: Finest gunplayBest RPGs: Grand adventuresBest co-op games: Better together



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