Bungie has announced a limited-time duos queue for Marathon, responding directly to fan demand just one week after the game's launch. Game director Joe Ziegler confirmed the test begins Wednesday, March 18 at 10am PT on the Perimeter map only, and will run for two weeks.
Bungie Goes "A Bit Rogue" With Experimental Duos
Ziegler broke the news on social media Monday afternoon, framing it as a deliberate departure from the original roadmap. "Alright, everyone, we're going a bit rogue here," he posted. "We have a bit of an experimental feature that's in development, we want to test, and we'd love for you to help."
Here's the thing: this feature was not originally planned for launch. Ziegler himself acknowledged the user experience is still in flux, telling players upfront that "things will be a bit jank." That kind of transparency is notable for a live-service game still in its first weeks.
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There is no matchmaking for duos. Players must form pre-made groups of two before queuing, and will only be matched against other pre-made duos squads.
The two-week window is explicitly framed as a test, not a permanent addition. Ziegler noted this "likely won't be the final implementation of how it would look and flow in the game," but confirmed the goal is to make duos a permanent queue option if the experiment goes well.
What This Means for the Perimeter Map
Running duos exclusively on Perimeter keeps the scope of the test manageable, but it introduces some interesting variables. With crews of two instead of three, the total number of teams in a match will need to increase to keep player counts consistent. That could have real knock-on effects:
- Loot and enemy camps may get cleared out faster than usual
- Firefights could become more frequent and chaotic
- Matchmaking wait times may stretch depending on how many players opt into the mode
What most players miss is that splitting an existing player base across additional queues always carries risk. Marathon has a solid presence on Steam, but it has not yet reached the scale of a major first-party Sony title. Whether the player base is large enough to support a healthy duos queue without gutting trios matchmaking times is one of the core things Bungie is trying to find out.
Bungie's Broader Testing Philosophy
Ziegler indicated this will not be a one-off experiment. Bungie plans to run similar limited-time tests for other features and tweaks going forward, suggesting a live-and-learn approach to shaping Marathon's long-term design.
The speed of this response is worth noting. Fans had been requesting a duos option since before launch, and Bungie is delivering a playable test less than two weeks after the game went live. That kind of turnaround signals the team is paying close attention to community feedback in the early post-launch window.
Separately, Cryo, Marathon's endgame map, is also slated to arrive later this week, giving players another major piece of content to look forward to alongside the duos test.
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If you want to try duos mode, coordinate with a partner before logging in on March 18. There is no solo queue or matchmaking available for this test.
Source: Kotaku
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Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
When does Marathon's duos mode go live?
The limited-time duos queue launches on Wednesday, March 18 at 10am PT and is scheduled to run for two weeks.
Which map is available in Marathon's duos test?
Only the Perimeter map is available during the duos test. Other maps are not part of this initial experiment.
Is there matchmaking for Marathon's duos mode?
No. Players must form a pre-made group of two before entering the queue. There is no automatic matchmaking for this limited-time mode.
Will duos become a permanent mode in Marathon?
Game director Joe Ziegler confirmed that making duos a permanent queue is the goal, but that depends on how the two-week test performs.
