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.
Marathon Server Slam date and time
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.
Marathon Server Slam rewards
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:
Complete your first mission: Unlock the Standard Arrival Cache Standard implants (6x)Standard Runner shell cores (4x)Standard weapon chip mods (6x)Weapons: Overrun and HardlineReach Runner Level 10: Unlock the Enhanced Arrival Cache (Green) Enhanced implants (6x)Enhanced Runner shell cores (2x for each shell, 12x total)Enhanced weapon chip mods (4x)Weapons: Enhanced Magnum and Enhanced HardlineReach Runner Level 30: Unlock the Deluxe Arrival Cache (Blue) Deluxe and Enhanced implants (3x each, 6x total)Deluxe and Enhanced Runner shell cores (1x each for each shell, 12x total)Deluxe and Enhanced weapon chip mods (2x each, 4x total)Weapons: Deluxe Magnum and Enhanced Volley RifleBackpack: Deluxe Base Backpack
What’s available in the Marathon Server Slam?
(Image credit: Bungie)
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:
Two maps: Perimeter and Dire Marsh
Outpost is not available despite featuring in previous testsEarly contracts for five factions: CyberAcme, NuCaloric, Traxus, MIDA, and Arachne
This includes early faction levels and progression trees for each factionSekiguchi Genetics, the sixth faction, is not availableFive of the six launch Runner shells: Assassin, Destroyer, Recon, Triage, Vandal (plus Rook)
While this includes the free loadout Rook shell, you sadly can’t play as Thief during the previewSquad and solo queue (plus proximity chat)Cross-play and cross-save enabled
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
From PCGamer latest via this RSS feed