The launch of Marathon‘s Season 2 has sparked interest once more in Bungie’s struggling extraction shooter, and combined with a free-to-play trial week has caused a rebound in concurrent Steam player count. However, the rise in players has also hit the servers hard, as players get flooded with error messages and disconnects whilst in the middle of their games.
From the moment the update dropped, Marathon‘s player count went from its usual daily peak concurrent Steam player count of 10,000 players right up to 28,000 players. This is still quite far from its launch peak of 88,000 players, but it’s still mid-week, and weekends typically see the highest concurrent Steam player counts for games.
What’s dampening the mood however is the error messages that both new players trying out the free week and returning players here for the new content are bumping into, as servers struggle to stay live. Errors are kicking players from their games, with a notice that their “connection to the Marathon character servers has been lost.” Some players are prompted to check their network settings, but Bungie has already confirmed that this issue is on their side.
As shared on the Bungie official forums, the team say they’re “already on the case” following widespread upset from Marathon fans and first-timers. Hopefully they’ll be back up and running soon, as the timing is incredibly unfortunate given this week is meant to appeal to new players and give a positive first impression.
In case you missed it, Marathon Season 2 brings a new map (with new mechanics to illuminate the night-based map), along with a new Sentinel shell for your Runners, plus a bunch of other additional gameplay additions and changes. From today and running through to June 9, Marathon is completely free to play for gamers on all compatible platforms, whether it’s PS5, Xbox Series X|S or PC.
We’ll be sure to report on all the latest as Marathon dives into Season 2, despite some initial server troubles. Check back often to GameObserver for more breaking gaming news.
