Latest news with #ClosedAlpha
Forbes
17-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Forbes
New ‘Marathon' Info: Bungie Morale, Launch Worries And Changing Plans
Marathon Chaos has engulfed Bungie after an artist, ANTIREAL, came forward to accuse Bungie of ripping off her 2017 work as its upcoming extraction shooter Marathon was starting to take shape as early as 2018. Bungie admitted to the plagiarism, supposedly the work of one ex-artist, and promised to make things right, but the story gained traction among gaming outlets and reaction streamers alike, and it's poisoned the previous positive conversation about the aesthetic of the game. But all of this is happening after another not-great time period for Marathon in the last few weeks, starting with the gameplay reveal and then its Closed Alpha, both of which received mostly mixed-to-negative feedback. A livestream on Friday addressed both the art plagiarism and Alpha feedback in what ended up being the most uncomfortable on-camera offerings I've ever seen from the studio. I've spoken to some current and former employees about Bungie's excuse for the art theft, studio morale, the possibility of a delay and some very real changes when it comes to the upcoming presentation and playtesting of the game. Here's what I've learned: Marathon Some changes to future plans had been made even before this new plagiarism development. Mainly as a reaction to gameplay footage and now the Closed Alpha. All of this, between necessary asset auditing, a reworked marketing campaign and shifting playtest plans, screams of a game that is not coming out in four months, or at the very least, shouldn't be, though there are no indicators of that yet. However, at this point it may be the case that another 3, 6, 12 months would not fix what ails the game, which is more than just presentation and some playtesting, but for many, its questionable core concept wrapped in extremely cool aesthetics. But now they've lost that last bit as a praise point as well. FEATURED | Frase ByForbes™ Unscramble The Anagram To Reveal The Phrase Pinpoint By Linkedin Guess The Category Queens By Linkedin Crown Each Region Crossclimb By Linkedin Unlock A Trivia Ladder Follow me on Twitter, YouTube, Bluesky and Instagram. Pick up my sci-fi novels the Herokiller series and The Earthborn Trilogy.
Forbes
29-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Forbes
Some Good News About ‘Marathon' Closed Alpha Codes, Finally
Marathon It's impossible to talk about what Marathon does or does not do right without 90% of the comments being about how people simply do not have Closed Alpha codes, with Bungie seemingly being stingy with them, and there being some concern that they're focused on creators. Well, it seems there may be ~30,000 codes in the wild at this point, thereabouts, between console and PC, if not more, and I'm not sure who qualifies as a 'creator' there, but I'm gonna say no more than a hundred or two. Still, it's frustrating. There's good news, however, as Bungie's Lars Bakken has confirmed that new codes are going out daily, and there was a wave last night alongside a Bungie Discord conversation about the game. "I think we're doing it daily from this point on. I can't tell you how many we're letting in, but I believe we're continually running the lottery system to hand out codes daily.' A lottery because all the creators have their codes, no doubt (kidding). But yes, codes are going out daily, it seems, when previously it was only every few days, or the large batch before the Closed Alpha launched. Keep checking your email, or keep an eye on Twitter or Discord which should have players broadcasting if they're finally receiving codes. Bad news, good news, good news and bad news about all this: If you don't get a Closed Alpha code now, the original plan was to have an Open Beta in August before launch in September. However, in the Discord chat, Bungie seemed to indicate there would be more playtests, plural, before release. So we'll see. Follow me on Twitter, YouTube, and Bluesky Pick up my sci-fi novels the Herokiller series and The Earthborn Trilogy.
Forbes
26-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Forbes
An Early Warning Flag For Bungie's ‘Marathon' Prospects
Marathon I've been up and down with my thoughts on Marathon, Bungie's new extraction shooter currently in its Closed Alpha. I'm not an extraction player at all, but I've had some good runs and some bad runs. Sticking around for the long term though remains a tough prospect to see. But I think there may be a shorter-term problem, one that has implications for its actual launch. And I'm a bit concerned about it. Tracking the playercount of the Closed Alpha on Steam, I'm noticing something. No, I don't care about the actual numbers at this point. This is a Closed Alpha. We know probably 80%+ of code applications have been denied. It's too early to extrapolate things like Open Beta or launch figures that will arrive in the coming months. But what I'm noticing is the trendline. The peak at launch is an obvious spike, up to 7K (though again, the specific number doesn't matter). However, Friday night, which you might imagine is gaming time for some who can't play as much on weeknights, is less than half that. Then, as the weekend has progressed, Saturday night lost more players, and the game is approaching less than a third of its initial players on launch day after just 72 hours. If this is the case for Sunday night, which I've often seen as the biggest night of the weekend, that's not great. Marathon There are two other things to consider here. First, this is happening as new players are being issued codes. So more players are being let into the Alpha with at least another big code wave having gone out, but the declines still exist. Second, if you are interested enough in Marathon to apply for a code in the first place, you are probably more prone to appreciate it than the average consumer. But if interest is dropping off in time this quickly with that group… FEATURED | Frase ByForbes™ Unscramble The Anagram To Reveal The Phrase Pinpoint By Linkedin Guess The Category Queens By Linkedin Crown Each Region Crossclimb By Linkedin Unlock A Trivia Ladder You could use Twitch metrics here as well, as those have also dropped dramatically from launch day when a bunch of huge streamers were playing, but I find those less reliable as they fluctuate heavily based on who is online, and a big streamer or three can produce dramatic swings. But these overall trendlines are more relevant. Ideally you'd want them to stay consistent or even increase as more codes go out and the weekend progresses. I am not saying that based on 72 hours of a Closed Alpha that Marathon is going to be a big miss. But I feel like I would be remiss to avoid saying that this is not an ideal thing to see if this is in fact representative of short-term player interest, as that has implications for both launch and long-term interest when the game launches. This is a Closed Alpha. There is more to be added to the game by launch, there are balance patches and there is polishing to do. It is likely that the final product is more attractive and results in more interest (albeit by then you'll have to pay for it). But the core concepts of Marathon are not changing, and the question is whether or not that will capture fans' interest once they get their hands on it. Follow me on Twitter, YouTube, and Bluesky Pick up my sci-fi novels the Herokiller series and The Earthborn Trilogy.
Forbes
23-04-2025
- General
- Forbes
Can't Get Into The ‘Marathon' Closed Alpha? You're Not Alone
Marathon Bungie's Marathon Closed Alpha begins later today, starting at 1 PM ET. But it's not exactly a celebratory day for everyone. Some people will not make it into the Closed Alpha, at least not right away, and I mean that in two different ways, and both may prove to be frustrating for players. The first issue is the total number of Closed Alpha codes that have gone out. While I kept seeing people on my timeline or in comments celebrating that they finally got their code in their email, that was clearly skewed toward the positive, rather than those still waiting for codes. Best I can tell, there is a significant majority of Closed Alpha code applicants that have not received a Closed Alpha code despite applying, and despite there being at least two major waves of codes being issued so far. I just ran a poll on Twitter from my heavily Bungie-centric follower base, and the ratio that has emerged with thousands of votes in is about 80/20 in favor of not getting a code after application. 82% to 18%, to be exact. While I figured that Bungie would slowly spool up invites over time, they have not been spooled up enough to accommodate a majority of applicants, possibly not even close, so you're not alone there if you're stranded without a code. It is not impossible that more codes will be issued over the course of the Alpha, but I would not rely on that happening. At this point, it seems like Bungie may be straining itself to even accommodate those who have gotten in, which leads me to my next point. There may be a significant delay in getting into the Closed Alpha today even if your code is ready to go. Bungie has issued a statement that they will have a population cap when it goes live at 1 PM ET, so you may have to wait an indefinite amount of time to get in: 'For everyone eager to dive into the Marathon Closed Alpha tomorrow, we will be implementing a population cap when we go live at 10AM PT. We will slowly raise the cap and allow more players to join while we run some technical tests. We expect to have room for everyone who has access, but if you plan on playing right when the gates open, you may have to wait a bit as we get everyone in. We appreciate your patience and look forward to running Tau Ceti IV with you.' So if you've found this post and are wondering why you can't get in yet, this is why. I'm also at least a tiny bit concerted when they say they 'expect' to have room for everyone who has access, implying there's a chance they don't, but hopefully they will. If you're missing this Closed Alpha, as it appears a number of you are, there will be an Open Beta in the coming months, August, I've been told. Until then, you'll have to live vicariously through streams, which I know is not what you were hoping for. We'll see if more codes go out, but don't bank on it. Follow me on Twitter, YouTube, and Bluesky Pick up my sci-fi novels the Herokiller series and The Earthborn Trilogy.
Forbes
19-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Forbes
New ‘Marathon' Info About The Closed Alpha, NDAs And Open Beta
Marathon The Marathon vibes have been shifting a bit more toward the positive with A) Bungie spooling up some new cool marketing and bits and pieces of content now that Closed Alpha codes are going out and B) opening that Closed Alpha up not to be actually open, but at least no longer NDA. What that means is that starting on Wednesday, April 23 and ending May 4, this will be the first, expansive look at the game past gameplay trailers and a handful of streamer/YouTuber footage. Thousands and thousands of players will be able to play, stream, record and discuss impressions as Bungie is now asking outright for feedback, while cautioning the game is not finalized with release still five months away. Plus as a live game, these conversations will always be ongoing. Why did this happen? Per my sources, a few things were going on here: Marathon So, that's where we are, or as near as I can tell. The biggest question mark here is whether the Alpha can be a sea change moment with people actually getting to play the game themselves, and spread the word it's actually good. Of course if it's not impressive enough, that may begin a spiral. This would have happened anyway during the Open Beta, but doing it this way means at least there might be some time to course correct some commonly disliked elements, whatever those may be. And Bungie is saying they want to do that outright, as much as is possible. It's a pretty crunched timetable. One thing I am still not sure about is what's going on with the 'endgame' of Marathon which includes this supposedly much different fourth map that at least right now, does not appear to be launching with the game. I'm wondering if they will manage to get it out, but I don't know if that will happen or if it's even possible on this timetable, as it's currently unfinished. For now, we'll see how things go on Wednesday. FEATURED | Frase ByForbes™ Unscramble The Anagram To Reveal The Phrase Pinpoint By Linkedin Guess The Category Queens By Linkedin Crown Each Region Crossclimb By Linkedin Unlock A Trivia Ladder Follow me on Twitter, YouTube, and Bluesky Pick up my sci-fi novels the Herokiller series and The Earthborn Trilogy.
