Marathon’s latest server slam hit 150K on Steam as Bungie tweaks PC issues and PvP pacing

Bungie wrapped up another weekend “server slam” test for Marathon, and early signs point to a bigger turnout and a slightly steadier build than the last public run. On PC alone, the test peaked at just under 145,000 concurrent players on Steam before tapering off over the weekend, according to SteamDB. The test was also playable on PS5 and Xbox Series X|S, with crossplay enabled.

Player impressions are still pretty split. Skimming discussion on the game’s subreddit, a lot of folks say Marathon feels less like constant run-and-gun and more like careful rotations and picking fights, especially early on when ammo and encounters can feel sparse. Other common complaints (and occasional praise) keep circling the same stuff: a UI that’s hard to read, an art style that’s either off-putting or distinctive depending on taste, and ongoing debates about time-to-kill.

Bungie, meanwhile, has been posting frequent updates from the dev team on social media about what it’s changing based on this test. The studio says it’s pushed fixes aimed at PC mouse lag and crashes, plus performance optimizations. It also mentioned adjusting lower-level runs to populate matches with more players, with the goal of making PvP show up more consistently instead of feeling empty.

Beyond the fixes already shipped during the test, Bungie has also been calling out the big topics it’s still watching: movement feel, ammo and health item balance, time-to-kill, and requests for a dedicated duos playlist.

Marathon is still targeting a March 5 launch date.