Marathon Leaks: NDA-Covered Alpha Reveals Major Fixes and a Shot at Redemption

Marathon is still deep in testing, but new leaks from the current NDA-covered Alpha suggest Bungie is finally getting this extraction shooter into better shape. The footage isn’t public — and won’t be, unless someone decides to risk legal trouble — but several new details have emerged, and they point to changes that might finally win over skeptics from the earlier playtests.

The source is Twitter user @itsrocksiza, who claims they didn’t sign any NDA but had access to internal info and early screenshots. Those images were quickly removed after Bungie got involved, but the descriptions remain. The screenshots reportedly show a much more polished version of the game, especially compared to the earlier Alpha that drew criticism for empty levels, weak lighting, and disappointing technical design. This time, Marathon looks denser, more atmospheric, and closer to the cinematic tone Bungie showed off in its original trailers.

New environment effects include proper light bounces, thicker shadows, and what looks like dynamic weather layers. One of the more striking images shows blue blood pooling around a body — a visual callback to what was teased in earlier CGI promos. This small touch matters because the earlier Alpha made a strange choice: enemies didn’t leave bodies behind. They just vanished. Players were quick to call that out, especially for a game that prides itself on gritty sci-fi and “tactile” combat. Now, corpses seem to persist, alongside the loot bag system, which could make firefights feel more grounded.

Also leaked: tweaks to the Black Market system, where players trade materials. There are clearer UI elements, updated icons, and a streamlined map legend that actually shows where anomalies and bosses are. In terms of new gear, a sniper rifle called the V99 Channel Rifle was spotted. It uses volt cell ammo and supposedly feels like the sniper from Team Fortress 2, which is either genius or a gamble depending on how fast the rest of the gunplay moves.

On the class side, Bungie is adding a medic-style runner, described as playing like Lifeline from Apex Legends. This character can drop medkits and send out a healing drone that follows allies to gradually restore health. That’s a first for Marathon, which has so far been focused on raw extraction mechanics and squad tactics. Longer resurrection timers were also mentioned, adding more weight to revives and suggesting Bungie wants players to think twice before taking risks.

The problem isn’t just mechanics, though — it’s optics. Extraction shooters like Hyenas, The Cycle: Frontier, and even The Finals have shown how fast the hype can drop off. Some die on launch, some never even make it that far. That’s the reality of multiplayer shooters now. There’s no middle ground. Either you hold attention and build momentum, or you vanish in a month. Even solid design can’t protect against fatigue, confusion, or poor first impressions.

We’ve previously written about how Sony insisted Marathon wouldn’t be “another Concord”, referring to the now-delayed live-service shooter that struggled to stand out despite high production value. The pressure is high because Marathon has a legacy — it’s tied to Bungie’s earliest games and still carries some nostalgia weight, especially among Halo-era fans. If this game flops, it’ll be loud.

The leaks don’t offer a full picture of what Bungie’s planning before launch, but the roadmap sounds like more tests are coming. These will be a mix of invite-only and NDA-covered alphas, with a potential public beta closer to release. Bungie hasn’t shared a final date yet, but the game is still targeting Fall 2025. With Sony’s fiscal year ending in March 2026, they’re likely aiming to launch by then at the latest.

If you’re wondering what it all means, it comes down to this: Bungie appears to be listening. They’ve responded to visual feedback, brought in more traditional class balance systems, and are clearly testing how to make squad roles feel distinct. Whether or not this is enough to avoid a repeat of earlier mistakes will depend on how the game lands during its next big showing — and how players feel about actually playing it, not just watching trailers.

It’s not easy being a live-service shooter in 2025. The genre is packed, attention is short, and every misstep gets magnified online. The biggest strength Marathon might have right now is time — time to fix, polish, and rework until it doesn’t feel like it was rushed out the door. The latest leaks suggest that time is being used well.

If the final version delivers on what these Alpha leaks promise — strong co-op roles, improved maps, satisfying gunplay, and that dark, immersive Bungie worldbuilding — it could still win over players who’ve already written it off. But the clock is ticking. No shooter gets infinite chances.

And yes, we’re still tracking Marathon’s development, just like we’re tracking the strange creative decisions that Kojima makes, which he finds brilliant while others call cringeworthy. The difference is that Kojima embraces the weird. Bungie is trying to fix the practical. We'll see soon if that’s enough.