As Marathon’s player count steadies at 40,000 active users on Steam, but its average review score on platforms like Opencritic continues to climb higher, there’s clearly a disparity between the quality of the game and the interest in it. Part of the issue may be that Marathon is an extraction shooter, a genre that’s been fairly niche since its inception. On top of that, Arc Raiders may still be filling the extraction void for gamers, preventing them from buying into Marathon. What’s likely the most important factor of all, though, is that the initial hate campaign for Marathon could have scared a lot of potential buyers off, as whether players were watching streams or browsing social media, there was a large contingent of gamers desperate to see the game fail in its first few weeks.
While someone passionately hating on a game and cheering on its struggles is truly pathetic behavior, it’s an act that has sadly proven successful before, with games like Concord proving as much. Fortunately, it doesn’t seem like Marathon will meet that same fate, as though its audience is undoubtedly smaller than Bungie and Sony would like, it’s sizable enough to keep the lights on for now. And, as the failed hate campaign starts to subside and positive word of mouth continues to spread, there’s hope that Marathon will have strong legs and expand over time. If Bungie wants to give it the best chance of doing just that, then another free weekend could be the way to go.
Marathon Review
After almost a month with Marathon, it feels safe to say that Bungie’s new Sci-Fi extraction shooter should be considered a new multiplayer great.
Why Another Free Weekend Would Be a Smart Move for Marathon
Marathon is a truly great game that’s fallen victim to blind hate, and another free weekend can prove it…
Marathon’s Server Slam, which occurred just days before its proper launch, was seemingly successful in the sense that many posts about how this trial won players over can be found online. Prior to getting to play Marathon themselves, many were down on the game, whether it be to its choice of genre, the Marathon art theft controversy, or a general dislike for Bungie due to its recent choices. Through the Server Slam, many were woken up to the game’s potential, even if some were scared off by its significant learning curve. Naturally, another trial period could allow players to show their friends why they love the game so much, expanding Marathon’s audience.
Balance the critic averages
Balance the critic averages
Easy (6)Medium (8)Hard (10)
A second free trial for Marathon would have the added benefit of the positive Marathon reviews to go off of, too. While grifters were dunking on Marathon, more critics have been sharing their love of the game. From Game Informer’s 9.25 to 9s from IGN and Game Rant, it’s clear that those who have actually spent proper time with Marathon have gotten hooked on it. Actual players, as opposed to Metacritic review bombers, are high on the game, too, as indicated by its positive scores on platforms like Steam. Assuming that this growing positivity has gotten through the cracks of the undeserved bashing that the game received at launch, there very well could be a lot of players curious about Marathon, but unwilling to spend $40 on it until they’ve tried it themselves. This is where a second free weekend could prove to be a monumental success.
Bungie’s reputation is also steadily improving thanks to the quick Marathon patches, changes, and fixes. The studio is moving quicker than it ever has to address community criticisms, suggesting a bright future for the game if its player count can begin improving.
A Free Weekend for Marathon is Worth the Potential Bad Optics
However, if a free weekend were to be announced for Marathon just over a month after its launch, the same voices encouraging its downfall will undoubtedly start speaking up again. It’s not the best look for a game to go free-to-play so soon after launch, as it signifies to gamers that the player count isn’t as high as the developer would like. Still, those who would point and laugh at Bungie drawing attention to Marathon’s player count struggles aren’t people that would play the game anyway. Marathon is a truly great game that’s fallen victim to blind hate, and another free weekend can prove it to those that are still out of the loop.
Even if it’s used by Marathon’s haters as evidence that the game is on death’s door, a free weekend is the best tool Bungie has to further flex Marathon’s increasingly positive reviews and encourage fence sitters to finally make the jump. If it results in an increased audience, then it’d very much be worth the naysayers using it as more material to bash the game with. Because, at the end of the day, the quality of Marathon speaks for itself, and ensuring that as many gamers get their hands on it as possible would be a smart first step in the journey to building a bigger audience.
- 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
