March has been a mega month for video games already, as we've seen Resident Evil Requiem debut and move over six million units so far (yes, it did launch right at the end of February...), Pokémon Pokopia arrive and sell 2.2 million units based on data after four days on the market, Crimson Desert shift three million units in a few days, and even Slay the Spire 2 notching up over three million sold copies despite being an Early Access project. It's because of all of this that you have to somewhat say that Marathon has been the big loser of March when it comes to sales, if the latest data from Alinea Analytics (thanks, VGC) is to be believed.
Despite debuting at the beginning of March on the 5th, the latest data claims that Marathon has sold 1.2 million units so far. This isn't a bad figure at all, but it does seem quite weak when compared to the competition and how when stacked up to single-player projects that can easily remain around for years to come, Bungie's latest live multiplayer title has fallen the shortest.
But perhaps the most concerning news if you're a PlayStation executive is where Marathon has performed best. It's noted that of the 1.2 million sold units, around 800,000 copies came via PC on Steam. Only around 19% of the sold units were on PS5 with 217,000 copies on the platform with Xbox surprisingly close at 133,000 copies. The reason this is perhaps concerning for Sony is that a recent report suggested the company was interested in making single-player first-party games permanently PS5 exclusive, but could this perhaps eliminate a huge consumer base...? The Marathon data definitely shows that there's a conversation to be had on this matter.
The data does also suggest that so far Marathon has led to revenues of around $55 million for Bungie so far, which no doubt will settle some doubts and concerns fans and executives may have.
Have you played Marathon yet?