Starfield Just Made Marathon’s Player Count Problem Impossible to Ignore

When you think of underwhelming AAA projects from legendary developers, it probably won’t be long before Starfield and Marathon come to mind. Of course, neither of these releases are anywhere near the likes of Concord or Redfall: they aren’t terrible, just shockingly ineffectual and culturally insignificant, given their ambition and developer histories.

They’re also both victims of bad timing. Starfield was criticized for being outdated in its design, which it probably wouldn’t have been, had it been released pre-2020. For its part, Marathon showed up late to the extraction shooter party and was easily overshadowed by other, more engaging and experimental, genre entries (e.g. ARC Raiders). Both titles suffer from past success as well: Bethesda RPG fans wanted the next Elder Scrolls or Fallout game, not Starfield, whereas Bungie fans have to mourn Destiny 2 while Marathon fails to keep their attention. And say what you will about Starfield, but it’s most definitely in a better position than Marathon, which is staring down the barrel of a difficult few years indeed.

Starfield’s Average Steam Player Count Is Officially Higher than Marathon’s

As pointed out by Twitter user Forcer, Starfield‘s player counts are higher than Marathon‘s, across the board (as of July 13, 2026):

• Starfield 24-hour peak: 6,440
• Starfield all-time peak: 330,723

• Marathon 24-hour peak: 6,268
• Marathon all-time peak: 88,337

It should be noted that, going off Steam data, Starfield is still one of Bethesda’s least-played RPGs. For instance, at the time of writing, Fallout 4‘s 24-hour peak concurrent player count is over 13,500, while Starfield‘s is just over 4,700. Starfield is on Game Pass, which probably accounts for many more players, but the same can be said about Fallout 4. At any rate, it’s clear that Starfield doesn’t exactly set a high bar, especially when you consider that it launched less than three years ago.

Marathon versus Destiny 2 tells the same sad story. Here are some Steam stats from July 14, 2026:

• Marathon 24-hour peak: 5,840
• Marathon all-time peak: 88,337

• Destiny 2 24-hour peak: 66,106
• Destiny 2 all-time peak: 316,750

Marathon, much like Starfield, is being overshadowed by one of its progenitors, suggesting that gamers prefer Destiny 2 to Bungie’s latest Sony-owned endeavor. Starfield’s performance could wind up having some significant impacts down the road, and not all of them strictly bad. Bethesda may grow more bold and experimental in its game design, for instance, or will perhaps prioritize in-demand legacy IP like The Elder Scrolls. Things are a little different for Marathon, though.

Marathon and Starfield Are in Similar Boats, but Marathon’s Is Sinking

At the end of the day, Starfield is a single-player, “one-and-done” kind of game. It received a single DLC, Shattered Space, some free content drops, and a general suggestion that, maybe, Bethesda would eventually give the game a transformation a la No Man’s Sky or Cyberpunk 2077. But today, we can safely say that Starfield is a finished product, for better or worse. It may even attract new players over time, maybe even growing into a cult classic of some sort–you never know what the future holds.

Starfield’s future is interesting to ponder, but ultimately of little real meaning. Maybe a resurgence in popularity would encourage a Starfield sequel or spin-off down the road, but that’s about it. Marathon can’t wait for the tide of public opinion to shift, for retrospective articles and YouTube videos about how it’s actually a misunderstood masterpiece. It needs new players immediately, or else it will wither on the vine.

Does Marathon Have a Chance in Today’s Live-Service Sphere?

Live-service titles are often very expensive gambles. This is why we tend to see them be completely shuttered rather than scaled down: if the return on investment isn’t massive, then the project may as well have failed completely. This doesn’t just come down to raw player numbers, but overall cultural footprint as well, and Marathon’s greatest claim to fame right now is as the Destiny 2 replacement, regardless of how accurate that classification might be. It’s going to be increasingly difficult for the game to compete in the attention economy, especially in the extraction shooter space, which is still relatively niche despite the popularity of games like ARC Raiders.

Games can bounce back from rough or underwhelming launches. I mentioned Cyberpunk and No Man’s Sky, but even more traditional live-service games, like Final Fantasy 14, have stood tall after stumbling in their early days. There’s always a chance that something like this could happen to Marathon. After all, one of the more palatable elements of the live-service space is that it allows for theoretically endless improvement. If there’s a strong enough drive from Sony and Bungie, and a strong enough, optimistic enough vision for a better future, then Marathon could get a second wind.

It’s hard to know on both accounts, though. For one thing, Sony has experienced its fair share of live-service fumbles in recent years. There was Concord, of course, but even less noteworthy titles, like Destruction AllStars, have bitten the dust. Sony has canceled several in-development live-service games as well, and even its greatest success, Helldivers 2, doesn’t have the same must-play momentum that it did at launch. This could influence Sony in either direction, theoretically. Perhaps the company will opt to walk back its live-service endeavors even further, continuing its pattern of shuttering games that fail to meet expectations. Alternatively, Sony may be especially motivated to make Marathon work, considering its high profile. If Sony really wants a strong footprint in the live-service space, then Marathon could be its last chance.

There’s also the status of Bungie, which has suffered major layoffs recently, in addition to a general downturn in public opinion. There are the more obvious detrimental effects of the layoffs, namely the loss of so much talent and experience, but also the impact to morale. It must be very difficult to put all your chips on a game like Marathon, which has been cast in a negative light since launch. Bungie might still right the ship, but it certainly won’t be an easy job.

Released

March 5, 2026

ESRB

Teen / Animated Blood, Language, Violence, In-Game Purchases, Users Interact