Following its announcement in 2023 and delays for the sake of polish, the response to Bungie’s Marathon has been…interesting. This isn’t to say it’s a disaster – reports claim it sold 1.2 million across all platforms since launching last month – but it’s nowhere near the numbers of, say, Helldivers 2.
That said, it is a triple-A title and that reportedly extends to the budget. Forbes’ Paul Tassi claims that its budget is “over $200 million” and may even be closer to $250 million. The kicker is that it allegedly doesn’t include maintenance or new content. Are end-game activities like Ranked Mode and Cryo Archive, which launched several weeks after, included? We can’t really say.
However, it’s very likely that the mid-season balance patch and new Implants fall under new content, as will any new maps, Runners, weapons, cosmetics, and much more.
A lifetime peak concurrent player count of 88,337 on Steam and less than 30,000 in the past 24 hours would sound disastrous with that kind of budget. After all, Marathon costs $40, and if it reportedly sold 1.2 million, that’s nowhere close to breaking even. However, Sony could be playing the long game and relying more on recurring revenue from a dedicated hardcore player base.
We’ll find out in the coming months, so stay tuned. In the meantime, check out our review of Marathon here.
