Marathon Likely Won't Be a Concord-Level Disaster, Steam Numbers Suggest
A disaster, maybe – but not of concordian proportions.
After over a month of discussion about which game is more deserving of the disreputable title of "Concord 2" – Highguard or Marathon – it appears the former now has the right to call itself the successor to the worst AAA game of all time, as Steam numbers for Bungie's upcoming extraction shooter suggest it likely won't be a Concord-level financial disaster.
Following the false-start release date announcement and Marathon becoming available for pre-order, the title has somehow landed in Steam's Top 10 best-selling games, sitting at fifth place in the US and tenth globally, losing – within the pay-to-play category, F2Ps excluded – only to Quarantine Zone: The Last Check, ARC Raiders, EA Sports FC 26 (70% off at the moment), and Kingdom Come: Deliverance II (selling with a 50% discount as of this writing).
For comparison, the OG Concord never came close to Steam's Top Sellers, reportedly sold only around 25,000 copies across all platforms, and peaked at just 697 concurrent players on Steam – meaning that, despite all the controversies, questionable decisions, and instances of art theft surrounding Marathon, it's unlikely to follow the same path and shut down weeks after launch with full refunds to the poor sods unlucky enough to pay for it.
At the same time, Marathon's appearance in the Top Sellers should by no means be treated as if the game has succeeded already – just because it probably won't be a flop of concordian proportions doesn't mean it can't flop.
I probably don't have to remind anyone, but back in the day, Dragon Age: The Veilguard performed even better at launch, becoming the Top-4 best-selling game on Steam, yet it still missed sales expectations by more than 50%, received abysmal player reviews, had its planned content updates canceled, and ultimately led to major layoffs at BioWare in early 2025.
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