Bungie releases Marathon closed alpha from NDA, so prepare for the avalanche of hot takes – Destructoid

Marathon’s closed alpha set to kick off in less than a week will no longer be under an NDA, so the content will begin to flow immediately.

Bungie made the announcement today that players will be able to livestream and post content about the closed alpha once it goes live, which is a 180 from what was originally planned. So, get ready for live streams, videos, articles, hot takes and cold takes next Wednesday.

“As developers we believe community feedback and dialog is essential to make the best version of Marathon,” Bungie said. “Up until now, this feedback has come from closed playtest sessions. In the spirit of building towards that future, we’ve decided to remove the NDA from our Closed Alpha Test. Everyone can share their thoughts, feedback, and footage, including streaming starting on April 23.”

The extraction shooter from the makers of Halo and Destiny will be under a microscope when the alpha goes live, which doesn’t feel too different from just about any game release in these times of social media and snap judgments. I will be playing the alpha test next week (I think I can say that now), so I’m looking forward to forming my own opinion on the title.

I do think that this is a good thing for the game’s future, though. Regardless of how the game looks or feels in its alpha state (which could be incredibly rough for all we know), the feedback given from the test being out and in the open should hopefully form a better game on launch. Unfortunately, the alpha is for North America only, but Bungie said it will have “additional opportunities for you to play Marathon before release later this year” if you’re outside of the region.

“Keeping an open dialogue is a crucial part of Alpha and beyond,” Bungie said. “We’ve been tracking several topics since Reveal and we’re looking forward to seeing and hearing your feedback as you play Alpha. After the Closed Alpha Test ends, we’ll be summarizing the major things we heard, our thoughts, and what comes next.”

Marathon’s closed alpha is the first public step towards the Sept. 23 launch, with a beta presumably following sometime this summer. Regardless of how the reveal went, if the game plays and runs well, runners should be flocking to the title in 2025.