It’s been about a month since Bungie launched its long-awaited extraction shooter Marathon, and while the game has enjoyed a mostly positive reception, its player count has already dropped 59% from its peak. Compared to some other extraction shooters on the market, it appears as though Marathon has gotten off to a relatively slow start, but Bungie is committed to supporting the game for the long haul.
Marathon has earned mostly positive reviews from fans and critics alike, but many have said that the game requires significant time investment to really get engrossed. The steep learning curve and stiff competition from other shooters, extraction and otherwise, are likely playing roles in Marathon‘s 59% player count drop since launch.
Best PC Settings for Marathon (Optimization Guide)
While Marathon is reasonably optimized on PC, players can further improve its performance by trying these best settings and achieving higher FPS.
Marathon Steam Player Count
Marathon‘s all-time peak player count was 88,337 players on Steam, with its 24-hour peak 36,203 players. At the time of this writing, there are around 25,000 players currently playing Marathon on Steam, but it’s likely that number will go up later tonight. Regardless, it’s clear that there are thousands of Marathon Steam players that were there at launch that have already decided to jump ship, and it will be interesting to see if any of those lapsed players can be convinced to come back to the game.
Bungie has big Marathon updates planned, with new content expected to be added to the game on a regular basis. For a live-service game like this, a steady stream of new content is integral to not only keeping the current players engaged, but also convincing former players to return. Time will tell if future Marathon updates are enough to bring its player count back up, or if the trend of the game’s declining player count will continue in the weeks ahead.
It should be noted that we only know of Marathon‘s player count on Steam. How the game is performing on consoles is a mystery. There were reports that indicated Marathon hasn’t done all that well on PS5, though it’s worth pointing out that it was still one of the top-selling new games on the PlayStation Store in March. MLB The Show 26, Crimson Desert, Resident Evil Requiem, WWE 2K26, and NBA 2K26 all out-sold it in the US, but at least it charted.
Marathon being a premium release instead of free-to-play is a risky gamble for a live-service game, but as the game grows, it may be able to carve a niche for itself. Bungie seems committed to Marathon no matter what, and it’s entirely possible that dedication will not only build a strong base of dedicated players that make it their go-to multiplayer game, but also ensure that the game has a long tail and avoids the catastrophic shutdowns other live-service titles have faced as of late. Even though Marathon‘s player count is down 59% from its peak near launch, the game still has a decent number of people still playing, and it will be interesting to see how its player count evolves over time.
- Released
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March 5, 2026
- ESRB
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Teen / Animated Blood, Language, Violence, In-Game Purchases, Users Interact
- Multiplayer
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Online Multiplayer, Online Co-Op
