Marathon's increase in sales comes after the Server Slam which occurred last weekend.
Things seem to be looking up for Marathon, Bungie’s next big PvP extraction shooter. Following its recent Server Slam weekend, the title has climbed to third place on Steam’s Top 10 best-selling games (according to SteamDB), marking a notable upswing in the run-up to its 5 March release.
The renewed momentum follows a more turbulent start earlier in its public lifecycle. An alpha playtest in early 2025 drew mixed reactions from players, with feedback centred on core systems and overall pacing. Around the same period, the studio faced a legal dispute after an artist alleged that elements of her 2017 work had been used without credit. The matter was resolved in December, and two weeks later, Bungie reintroduced the game with multiple improvements shaped directly by player feedback.
The game's renewed hype culminated in the Server Slam weekend, which ran over the weekend, and offered players extended access to a substantial portion of the game ahead of launch. According to SteamDB, the event peaked at 143,621 concurrent players, significantly boosting visibility on the platform.
In the days since, Marathon has risen from fourth to third place on the best-sellers chart at the time of writing. While Steam rankings fluctuate regularly, the shift reflects sustained pre-order activity during the final stretch before release.
Marathon joins Counter-Strike 2 and Resident Evil Requiem in Steam Top 3
Marathon currently sits behind only Resident Evil Requiem among new releases in Steam’s Top 10. The overall number one position remains occupied by Counter-Strike 2, which continues to lead the platform’s revenue charts.
Elsewhere in the Top 10, Apex Legends sits in fourth place, with PUBG: Battlegrounds following in fifth, both maintaining strong activity as established live-service shooters. Sixth place belongs to ARC Raiders, the largely popular extraction-focused title released last year.
In seventh place is Crimson Desert, the highly-anticipated open-world action game scheduled to launch on 19 March. Baldur's Gate 3, 2023’s Game of the Year at The Game Awards, remains in eighth position, continuing its long-running commercial performance. Ninth place is held by Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2, which continues to chart strongly following its 2024 release, although feedback around the new DLC has been quite negative. Rounding out the Top 10 is Mewgenics, this year’s early indie surprise, which has already surpassed one million copies sold within its first week on sale.
Beyond direct sales, the game has also climbed at least 10 places on Steam’s global wishlist rankings in recent weeks, where it is currently positioned at number 32. Fellow March releases Slay the Spire II and Crimson Desert sit at fourth and sixth place respectively on the wishlist charts, with Everwind close behind Marathon ahead of its own launch this month.
Of course, Marathon remains in its pre-order phase, and the rankings reflect activity from a single storefront. The real success will be measured by actual numbers, and the number of players the game will retain after launch.
