The game Marathon, developed by Bungie, has sold 1.2 million copies since its launch, with approximately 70% of these sales made through Steam. However, despite being a first-party title from Sony, it has not managed to reach the same level of popularity as its competitor Arc Raiders, which has sold 12 million copies.
A general success, but a bit weak for Sony
According to analyst Rhyss Elliott from Alinea Analytics, Marathon has had a moderate performance compared to what Sony and Bungie expected. While the game features a master design system, the user interface has been identified as a potential barrier for new players, which could be limiting its success in the competitive video game market. Elliott suggests that the complexity of the UI acts as a filter that drives users away before they can appreciate Bungie’s signature gameplay.
Despite these concerns, Marathon has maintained an average of 345,000 daily active players and an average playtime of 27.8 hours on Steam, figures that indicate sustained interest among those who manage to access the game. This contrasts with the lower averages of PS5 and Xbox, where the playtime is 16.5 and 17.3 hours, respectively.
With a base cost of $40, the evaluation of Marathon’s economic success is difficult to pin down, as Bungie or Sony’s internal goals and the game’s development budget are not known. Despite this, the numbers of active users and the duration of gameplay suggest that players are enjoying their experience, although the path to achieving a status comparable to that of Arc Raiders still seems complicated. Some experts believe that the lack of accessibility could be harming the retention of new players in this competitive environment.
