{"id":807681,"date":"2026-03-06T10:32:15","date_gmt":"2026-03-06T10:32:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/807681\/"},"modified":"2026-03-06T10:32:15","modified_gmt":"2026-03-06T10:32:15","slug":"bungie-asks-sites-to-delay-marathon-reviews-with-release-date-steam-player-count-below-100k","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/807681\/","title":{"rendered":"Bungie asks sites to delay Marathon reviews, with release date Steam player count below 100K"},"content":{"rendered":"

\t\t\"Marathon<\/p>\n

\u24d8 Bungie, Metacritic<\/p>\n

<\/a>Marathon banner shown with Metacritic logo<\/p>\n

Gamers may have to form their own opinions about whether Marathon was worth the wait. Although not mandatory, Bungie has asked websites to postpone reviews, leaving Metacritic blank. Naysayers think the unremarkable Marathon Steam player count reflects a lack of confidence in the shooter. <\/p>\n

Update:<\/strong> Notebookcheck has obtained a copy of the message Bungie sent to reviewers. The communication can be seen at the bottom of the page.\u00a0 <\/p>\n

Buyers undecided about Bungie\u2019s new extraction shooter<\/a> won\u2019t find much guidance on Metacritic<\/a>. That\u2019s partly due to the publisher’s request to delay Marathon<\/a> reviews until after its release date. The company has asked sites to hold their opinions until more content arrives later in March. <\/p>\n

Marathon reviews will eventually come<\/p>\n

On the ResetEra forums<\/a>, it emerged that a popular contributor\u2019s media outlet \u201cdidn’t get early access to the server.\u201d Other posters backed up the claim, mentioning that IGN\u2019s in-progress evaluation<\/a> wouldn\u2019t be final until the end of the month. <\/p>\n

It\u2019s unclear if positive Marathon reviews would have boosted the game\u2019s peak Steam player count<\/a>. Still, the title is falling short of some predictions, topping out below 87,000 on its March 5th release date. It currently ranks outside the top 10 most-played games on Valve\u2019s marketplace. Observers have noted that the new indie game Slay the Spire 2<\/a> reached a healthier 177,000+.<\/p>\n

During the server slam<\/a>, the Bungle project saw a Steam player count of over 143,300. However, that number steadily declined before the playtest ended. Now with a $39.99 price tag, players may hesitate to give it a second chance. <\/p>\n

Bungie’s fears may be unwarranted<\/p>\n

Despite the skepticism, early Steam Marathon reviews<\/a> are praising the extraction shooter. At the moment, it boasts a very positive rating of more than 84%. Most gamers enjoy the smooth gunplay<\/a> familiar to Bungie games like Destiny 2<\/a>. Even so, complaints about a congested UI have been common since initial demos. <\/p>\n

Not many players are bemoaning a lack of content, which seems to be a concern for the studio. Opinions vary about Bungie’s rather unusual appeal to sites. Some gamers feel that critics should be encouraged to issue their final verdicts on a paid product. On the other hand, the live-service model<\/a> can dramatically change a game after its release date. <\/p>\n

Season 1 for the sci-fi shooter is underway, but players can expect major additions to surface soon. An endgame zone map will give them a better sense of the narrative\u2019s direction. Ranked mode also promises to bolster competitive multiplayer options in the second half of March.<\/p>\n

\tMarathon review embargo message<\/p>\n

\t\"Adam<\/a>Adam Corsetti<\/a> – Tech Writer – 1066 articles published on Notebookcheck since 2025<\/p>\n

I became interested in technology at a young age and enjoyed discovering the latest innovations. While earning college degrees in publishing, I created several PC hardware and gaming websites. My passion has always been to guide readers on what products can truly improve their lives. After many years as a Tech Writer for Game Rant, I’m anxious to share my knowledge with a new audience at Notebookcheck.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\u24d8 Bungie, Metacritic Marathon banner shown with Metacritic logo Gamers may have to form their own opinions about…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":807682,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[7],"tags":[17467,6958,233532,233521,32619,233531,86527,24876,233541,6957,233538,233528,233533,233523,233524,212116,233534,233520,233535,233540,233529,233525,233522,233537,233539,195979,86526,24877,233526,86528,233542,14998,6080,6082,233530,96128,233536,2394,233527,53,32504,32438,16,15],"class_list":["post-807681","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-technology","tag-benchmarks","tag-bungie","tag-bungie-games","tag-bungie-marathon","tag-destiny-2","tag-extraction-shooter","tag-graphics-card","tag-laptop","tag-live-service-games","tag-marathon","tag-marathon-content","tag-marathon-game","tag-marathon-metacritic","tag-marathon-peak-steam-player-count","tag-marathon-player-count","tag-marathon-release-date","tag-marathon-review-delay","tag-marathon-reviews","tag-marathon-reviews-delayed","tag-marathon-season-1","tag-marathon-server-slam","tag-marathon-steam","tag-marathon-steam-player-count","tag-marathon-steam-reviews","tag-marathon-ui","tag-metacritic","tag-netbook","tag-notebook","tag-player-count","tag-processor","tag-ranked-mode","tag-reports","tag-review","tag-reviews","tag-server-slam","tag-shooter","tag-slay-the-spire-2","tag-steam","tag-steam-player-count","tag-technology","tag-test","tag-tests","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"","error":"Validation failed: Text character limit of 500 exceeded"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/807681","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=807681"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/807681\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/807682"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=807681"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=807681"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=807681"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}