Bungie is offering $500 reward just to play Marathon

Bungie is holding another Marathon playtest, but this time players can bag themselves a nice $500 payout just for trying out the shooter.

It’s fair to say that Marathon is off to a pretty rough start. The hotly-awaited extraction shooter received a lukewarm reception during its Closed Alpha Test, before being embroiled in a plagiarism controversy over artwork that appeared in the game.

Bungie then took the difficult decision to delay its initial September 2025 release date, and we currently don’t have any word on when it will finally launch.

Now, an extended playtest is taking place behind closed doors, and the devs are offering a healthy sum for anyone who takes part.

Marathon fans can earn $500 reward just for playing

As revealed in an email that has been sent out to players, seen by TheGamePost, the playtest is running for 30 days, and participants are required to play for at least one hour every single day. At the end of it, they receive a reward worth $500.

“This user research study is a playtest that will run for 30 consecutive days from Monday 9/8 to Tuesday 10/7, including weekends,” said the email. “You will be required to play for a minimum of 1 hour daily during the playtest window of 3–7 PM PST on weekdays and 2–8 PM PST on weekends.”

“Upon completing the study, you will receive a $500 gift card of your choice as a thank you for your valuable time and feedback,” it continued. “If you only complete part of the study, you will only receive the portion of the reward based on the number of days that you have completed.”

Bungie

This is a pretty hefty reward for a minimum of 30 hours’ work, equating to around $16.60 an hour if you only play 60 minutes a day.

Unfortunately, this playtest is invite-only, but anyone who has previously taken part in Marathon testing should check their emails to see if they’ve been included. If you want a chance to get in on the action, head over to the official Bungie website, create an account, and opt in to playtesting opportunities.

Closed community playtests are nothing new, but they usually tend to be made up of volunteers. Even the ones that are paid don’t usually pay as much as $500, so this is definitely a unique opportunity.