There's plenty of hype going around right now about a few video game releases, and Marathon has been one of the names to make the most waves. This action-first-person video game, which has undergone a significant journey since its 2023 announcement, finally released on March 5, 2026.
Marathon is a multiplayer extraction shooter and the first new entry in Bungie's original series of the same name since Marathon Infinity was released in 1996. As with many modern titles of its genre, it focuses on player versus player (PvP) gameplay and loot extraction mechanics.
The anticipation around Marathon wasn't just because of the time it took to finally see the light of day, but also because of the studios behind it. Rumored to have cost hundreds of millions of dollars, this PvPvE survival title is made by Bungie, the name behind legendary franchises like Halo and Destiny, and backed by PlayStation Studios.
That is why the game saw a rush of activity on its release day, enough to attract 88,337 concurrent players on Steam. This figure might be less than what it attracted during its open beta test phase, "Server Slam", where the game's online player count exceeded 143,000, but that was also because it was open to all comers.
Moreover, when it comes to Steam reviews, Marathon currently has a "Very Positive" rating from just over 5,000 online users. At the time of writing, 43,016 players were playing the game on Valve's digital distribution service and platform.
Interestingly, Bungie had sent out a message to reviewers asking them delay their reviews on Marathon. That is why popular sites like Metacritic have not yet come up with any ratings so far, although this move has been seen by naysayers as a lack of confidence in the shooter.
Marathon Day 1 viewership statistics
The hype around Marathon's release has been well-documented, so it got quite a lot of interest from viewers and prominent streamers. On the day of its release, i.e, March 5, the title accrued 960,301 Hours Watched (HW), putting it among the most-watched games on Twitch.
Such generous engagement from audiences meant that it was able to outperform more settled games like Minecraft, Dota 2 and Fortnite by watch time. And while it could not match the viewership figures of the enormously anticipated Resident Evil: Requiem, Marathon did get past another new launch that has been causing waves, Slay the Spire II.
Most watched and popular games on Twitch on Marathon's release day
However, Marathon did attract a higher peak on March 5 than all but one game: Counter-Strike. With 175,658 Pek Viewers, it was able to generate a higher single moment spike than Resident Evil: Requiem, although it was still a ways off the first day peak of another title that has had the industry buzzing for the past six months in ARC Raiders.
What helped was Bungie’s aggressive Twitch Drops campaign that will reward viewers for watching the game. Fans can earn exclusive cosmetics like the "White & Purple Ballistic Sniper" skin by watching eligible streams for up to four hours between now and March 9.
Among the content creators to show the most interest in Marathon were personalities like Michael "shroud" Grzesiek and Timothy "TimTheTatman" Betar, two names renowned for their love of shooter titles. When it comes to single moment spikes, the honor went to Crloss "Aztecross," an American streamer who is prominent for his support and regular gameplay of another Bungie offering, Destiny 2.
The game has also so far attracted a predominantly Western audience, led by countries like the USA and Canada. However, Russia and Japan, which are also famous for their own love of shooter games, also figure among the most-watched nations by geography.
It's been a steady day or so for Marathon post its highly-awaited release, with months of beta tests having already given fans a taste of what to expect. Streams Charts will keep track of the game's viewership statistics for any updates and news, which readers can access, including release data, using our PRO subscription.
