Marathon Server Slam stirs Steam with nearly 150,000 concurrent players day one, and that’s not counting console participation

Marathon’s Server Slam kicked off yesterday, and attracted an healthy number of players on Steam. In the past 24 hours, the game brought in a peak of 143,621 concurrent players, solely on the PC platform.

The Marathon Server Slam, the final public beta for Bungie’s sci-fi extraction shooter ahead of its launch on the 5th March, is free-to-download and try out for anyone interested in the game. It’s available on Steam, as well as PlayStation and Xbox. As such, while these early figures are impressive, they remain just a slice of the Slam’s full popularity.

For context, Arc Raiders’ final public beta test also broke above the 100,000 concurrent peak milestone soon after its release. It reached an all-time peak of 189,668, so for those keeping track of the numbers as an indicator of launch success, the hope is that Marathon can stack an extra 40,000 or so over the weekend.

Indeed it’s hard not to compare the two games. Arc Raiders, while certainly not the first extraction shooter to make a big splash, certainly brought the subgenre into the spotlight since its launch last year. It has proven exceptionally popular, and arguably opened the door for other extraction shooters to tap into that engaged audience. Marathon, which has by no means had a hurdle-free development cycle, may be able to emulate a similar success.

In terms of very early community reception, things appear to be positive. Typical Bungie gunplay quality is present, and the aesthetic while offputting for some has enraptured others. Best to keep an eye on the game over the weekend, and jump in yourself to see what all the fuss is about if you’re so inclined! The Server Slam ends on the 2nd March.