Marathon has launched with strong concurrent Steam players. Bungie also confirms future DLC will avoid FOMO, keeping content free and permanently accessible.
Marathon Launches Strong with Free Seasonal Content and No FOMO
Strong Debut on Steam is a Good Sign
Marathon launched with strong numbers on Steam, drawing over 86,000 concurrent players within its first hours and earning a "Mostly Positive" rating from more than 2,000 reviews, according to official Steam data. Part of its initial success came from the game’s strong marketing campaign, which introduced music videos and individual Runner Shell trailers to build hype.
Days before its March 5th launch, Marathon topped Steam’s weekly best-selling charts, surpassing heavy hitters like Capcom’s Resident Evil Requiem (RE9) and the upcoming Crimson Desert. Hours later, the game is still hovering around the 86,000 mark with no signs of slowing down yet. With the weekend approaching, Marathon’s numbers could still increase.
Free Seasonal Updates Keep Marathon Fresh for Players
Marathon’s seasonal plans last three months, according to Bungie’s roadmap. Each season will introduce new content, including weapons, quests, and other surprises for the studio’s budding entry in the extraction shooter genre. To add to that, each season will reset player progress, starting everyone over from zero while preserving all earned cosmetics and skins.
Its first season, Season 1: Death is the First Step, is currently underway. The season’s endgame activity will take players into the mysterious Cryo Archives of the UESC Marathon, the derelict space station hovering in the skies of Tau Ceti IV and the game’s namesake.
More importantly, Bungie has confirmed that Marathon will not feature paid DLCs or expansion content, unlike Destiny 2’s "The Witch Queen" and "The Final Shape." Battle Pass content will also be permanently available, allowing players to unlock previously released items even after a new battle pass arrives.
Bungie Learns from Past Mistakes
This major shift in business model suggests Bungie has learned from past criticism and will avoid repeating what many players saw as Destiny 2’s mistake, where it locks players out of older content through its content vault.
This was one of the reasons Destiny 2’s content model became polarizing for its players. Nearly half of the game’s earlier campaign content, like the Red War, was eventually shelved, as well as plenty of cosmetics and weapons that became inaccessible. As a result, this led to players feeling "FOMO" (fear of missing out) and taking to social media to voice their concerns.
Destiny 2’s most recent expansion, The Edge of Fate, received lukewarm reviews, partly due to its "small-scale" expansion approach, offering few reasons for players to jump back in and enjoy the looter shooter. Our review of Edge of Fate received a "Below Average" score, deeming it a "dull epilogue paired with frustrating mechanics".
Marathon, on the other hand, still has a lot of work to do now that their latest IP has officially arrived. Following its recent controversies and lukewarm alpha reception, the game has since improved, as seen in our Server Slam Weekend first impressions. With the full release today, Bungie has enhanced optimization and gameplay loop, as well as unveiling an ambitious roadmap for the game’s future.
Marathon is now available on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC via Steam. Check out our in-progress review of Marathon at the link below.
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Bungie Confirms Marathon Has No FOMO on X
