Bungie invites select testers to 30-day Marathon study for $500

Bungie has invited a group of select testers to play its delayed shooter Marathon every day for a month in exchange for a $500 reward, according to emails circulated to invited participants. The invite-only, remote user research study is scheduled to run from Sept. 8 to Oct. 7 and requires participants to play at least one hour daily within set time windows, complete short daily and weekly surveys, and sign a nondisclosure agreement, the invitation said.

Leaked copies of the email and reporting indicate the required play windows are 3 to 7 p.m. Pacific Time on weekdays and 2 to 8 p.m. Pacific Time on weekends. Participants who complete all 30 days will receive a $500 gift card of their choice; those who miss days will be paid a prorated amount based on days completed. The program is limited to players who have taken part in previous closed playtests, and organizers stressed the study is 100 percent remote.

The monthlong test follows a series of behind-the-scenes trials after Marathon’s poorly received closed alpha and a widely publicized controversy over alleged plagiarism of some visual assets. The game, which departs from the classic Marathon trilogy as a PvP extraction...