Bungie's extraction shooter Marathon is set to launch on March 5, 2026, across PC, Xbox, and PS5, following a successful open beta. Analyst estimates show pre-launch sales on Steam at around 250,000 copies, trailing Arc Raiders' 550,000. A new cinematic music video highlights the game's unique art style ahead of global rollout.
Marathon's open beta during Steam's Next Fest last week performed strongly, ranking as the second most-wishlisted game with over 200,000 players adding it to their lists, bringing total wishlists to about 1.2 million on Steam. It was also the most-played demo at the event. However, according to Alinea Insight's report, as of March 2, 2026—three days before launch—Marathon had sold just under 250,000 copies on Steam. This figure is more than double that of Arc Raiders at a similar pre-launch point, which reached around 550,000 copies.
Player data indicates limited overlap between the two titles: only 48 percent of Steam users who tried Marathon's beta also played Arc Raiders, while 74 percent had experience with Destiny 2. The game launches on March 5 for PC, Xbox, and PS5.
Bungie released a launch cinematic music video on March 3, featuring the track 'In Death We've Just Begun' by Poppy and Son Lux. Ryan Lott, founder of Son Lux, serves as the game's main composer. The full 3-minute-24-second song is available on major music platforms. The video emphasizes Marathon's distinctive art direction and brutal gameplay in the Tau Ceti IV setting.
Global release times are as follows: on March 5, 2026, at 10am PST, 12pm CST, 1pm EST, 6pm GMT, and 7pm CET; on March 6, 2026, at 3am JST and CST (Beijing), 5am AEST, and 7am NZST.
Bungie has outlined an initial roadmap including free seasonal content, wipes every three months, and evolving experiences leveraging the studio's live narrative approach.
