Despite many naysayers predictions, Marathon did not suffer the same fate as Concord and managed to build a solid player base. Even so, Bungie’s project allegedly did not meet Sony’s expectations, with total sales reaching 1.2 million copies, while just 19% of those sales came from PlayStation 5.
The audience response has also been mixed. At launch, the number of concurrent players on Steam was relatively low for such a big release, but the situation has been consistent over time. The game now averages 38,000 active Steam users, with notably 70% of players choose the PC version. Despite the mixed launch results and divided user feedback, Bungie has stated that it has long-term plans to support Marathon.
In the game’s PC performance guide, the company said, “We are in it for the long haul with Marathon. We look forward to many years of steady improvements to every aspect of the game.” The developers assured fans that all parts of the project will continue to improve based on community feedback. Bungie also explained its approach to updates, saying, “Our plan is to get improvements out as soon as we can, rather than wait to drop them all at the same time (even though this might make them less obvious).”
Although Marathon has not reached the same level of popularity as fan-war rival ARC Raiders, it has already built a steady group of players. With good support from Bungie and regular updates, the game’s player base could keep growing, especially since thousands of users have already bought the game and want to see it improve over time. However, with the current state of the industry’s approach to live services, it’s a valid concern to think whether the game’s success will remain stable enough for Bungie to keep the promise it has made.
In other news, Bungie has confirmed a strict zero-tolerance policy for Marathon, stating that players caught cheating or developing hacks will be permanently banned with no second chances and no warnings.
