Bungie’s extraction shooter Marathon hasn’t had the strongest start, and the numbers are now telling a difficult story. Just over a month since release, the game has shed nearly 60% of its Steam player base, a worrying sign for a studio already navigating a turbulent period following Destiny 2‘s struggles.
Marathon peaked at 88,337 concurrent players on Steam at launch, a modest figure by live service standards, but that number has since plummeted to roughly 36,000, with regular dips even below that. For a paid title still in its early weeks, that kind of retention drop is hard to ignore.
The issues go beyond the numbers
The core concept has merit, and Bungie has clearly put craft into certain elements. But steep difficulty, even for seasoned extraction shooter veterans, has made it a tough sell for players looking to stick around.
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What makes it more pressing is that Steam is Marathon’s strongest platform. If retention is struggling there, performance on PS5 and Xbox is likely worse. Players paid upfront for this one, and many simply aren’t returning.
Paid rivals like Arc Raiders and Helldivers 2 proved the model can work at scale, but Marathon just hasn’t found that foothold yet.
If the studio listens to feedback and acts on it, a turnaround remains possible, but the clock is ticking.
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