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Slay the Spire 2 Crushes Bungie’s Marathon on Steam Charts

Slay the Spire 2 is dominating Steam charts, pulling in nearly ten times more players than Bungie’s Marathon.

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Slay the Spire 2 is a massive hit on Steam and has already gained ten times more players than Bungie’s Marathon. The indie game is not only outperforming the major AAA Sony PlayStation title, but it’s absolutely dominating it.

Slay the Spire 2 vs Marathon Steam Charts

When it was first announced that Slay the Spire 2 would launch on March 5, no one expected that it would be direct competition for Bungie’s Marathon. After all, the extraction shooter is rumored to have cost hundreds of millions of dollars, and it’s made by Bungie and backed by PlayStation Studios.

However, on Steam, the small indie title is outperforming Marathon by a massive margin. How much exactly? According to SteamDB, Slay the Spire 2 has reached 310,024 peak players on Steam as of the time of this article. In comparison, Marathon Steam Charts show that the extraction shooter has only managed to reach 88,337 peak players on the Valve platform.

Now, it should be pointed out that Marathon has also launched on PlayStation 5, and the majority of its player base is probably on console. However, many expected Bungie’s Marathon to hit higher numbers on Steam.

And it’s a massive feat that Slay the Spire 2 was able to pull in ten times more users than a major AAA game. However, the real story is how the active player numbers are trending for both titles.

Slay the Spire 2 Is Beating Marathon in Active Steam Players

While peak player numbers are interesting and all, they can also be a bit misleading. For example, the now-failed Highguard hit a peak of almost 100k players at launch. But that didn’t mean much when the game plummeted to 39k players just hours after it went live. So it’s important to look at the active player trend lines and what they are saying.

According to Slay the Spire 2 Steam Charts, the indie title is actually gaining more players every hour. On launch day, for example, it only hit 174,636 active players at its peak. However, on March 6, Slay the Spire 2 has nearly doubled its player base by hitting 310,024 peak players. And that number is growing so fast that this article will be outdated within minutes!

The Marathon Steam Charts show a different story. At launch, Bungie’s extraction shooter only managed to get 88,337 peak players. Unlike Slay the Spire 2, Marathon is seeing a downward trend line where its active Steam players have dropped to 32,042 active players. In short, Slay the Spire 2 is trending upwards and Marathon is not.

Slay the Spire 2 March 5 (Launch): 174,636 peak players. March 6: 310,024 peak players.

March 5 (Launch): 174,636 peak players.

March 6: 310,024 peak players.

Marathon March 5 (Launch): 88,337 players. March 6: 32,042 players.

March 5 (Launch): 88,337 players.

March 6: 32,042 players.

Interestingly, the Slay the Spire 2 Steam Charts are following a similar pattern to the wildly successful Arc Raiders. The Swedish extraction shooter not only managed to net over 300k active players, but it’s been able to maintain those numbers even four months after its launch.

Is Marathon Steam Charts Really That Bad?

While the Marathon Steam Charts aren’t encouraging, there are a few things we have to consider. For example, as I mentioned earlier, Bungie’s Marathon has also launched on PS5 and Xbox, and its main player base is likely on console.

Here are some factors why Bungie’s Marathon steam numbers might not matter:

Marathon cost $39 vs Slay the Spire 2 which is priced at $24.

Bungie’s Extraction Shooter also launched on PS5 and Xbox, which is its main player base. We don’t have Sony or Microsoft numbers.

Marathon had overwhelmingly positive Steam Reviews, and PS5 reviews from active players.

Marathon is a live-service game, with ongoing content and seasonal content. It has time to build an audience.

Given that Marathon initially had a lukewarm reception during its beta in 2025, it’s impressive how much Bungie has turned things around for the game. On PlayStation Network, Marathon has a 4.78 out of 5 rating among thousands of user reviews. Similarly, it’s currently sitting at a Very Positive rating on Steam.

So those who are playing Marathon are really loving it. Still, it’s impressive that Slay the Spire 2 was able to pull in ten times more players with a much smaller budget. I didn’t even see marketing for the indie title! And of course, Marathon’s active Steam players trending downward isn’t exactly an encouraging sign.

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