Video game analytics firm Alinea Analytics has reported that Bungie’s Marathon has only sold around 1.2 million copies since launch.
Alinea, who previously accurately reported sales of Battlefield 6 and Arc Raiders, reports that the game has not sold particularly well compared to other multiplayer hits. “Not exactly made the splash Sony and Bungie wanted, even if the game underneath the surface is a masterwork of design,” added head of market analysis Rhys Elliot.
In the report, Elliot revealed that Marathon’s main sales come from the PC audience with 70% of players, around 800,000 copies, on Steam. PlayStation 5 comes in second place with 19% of players, followed by the remaining 11% of players on Xbox.
Alinea also reports that the game has raked in an estimated $55 million in revenue. At the time of writing, there is no concrete knowledge of what the game’s overall budget was, although some have claimed an unsubstantiated $250 million figure that has not been confirmed by any party.
Despite the low sales figures, Marathon has already garnered a very devout audience since launch, and many of the game’s players are still returning day after day. Additionally, reviews of the game following the launch of its Cryo Archive endgame have been very positive.
“Despite the rocky start, those who survived Marathon’s onboarding are loving life,” the analyst explained. “After peaking at 478K total DAUs (Steam, PS, XB) on its first Saturday, Marathon has settled into a respectable rhythm, holding 345K DAUs as of yesterday and averaging 380K DAUs across the weekend.
As a Marathon player with over 75 hours in the game since launch, Bungie’s game is a fantastic multiplayer game, even if its players are becoming increasingly psychotic within the virtual world. With a unique aesthetic and fantastic storytelling, Bungie’s game has some of the best quest design in the genre and some genuinely clever expansions on the formula.
In a previous article, we wrote that Marathon may be our Game of the Year, provided the game is still alive when we write the list at the end of 2026. With all eyes on the game’s player count, the hope is that Bungie will be able to at least maintain its audience as additional updates come to the game.
While some live-service titles have already come and gone this year, it’s not known how big Marathon needs to be to survive. At the time of writing, there is no evidence that Marathon is in a dismal place in the eyes of Bungie or Sony right now.
