22 February 2026

ARC Raiders’ Dropping Player Count is Good News for Bungie’s Marathon

By newsgame

ARC Raiders turned out to be one of the biggest games of 2025. That’s saying a lot, considering that titles like Ghost of Yotei, Death Stranding 2, Battlefield 6, and Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 also launched in the same year. Before ARC Raiders hit the scene, extraction shooters were a more niche genre. Now, they may be the next big thing.

Escape From Tarkov was the go-to extraction shooter for a long time, but its notorious learning curve and high challenge level doesn’t exactly appeal to a wide audience. ARC Raiders, on the other hand, made the genre far more accessible. The sci-fi-inspired post-apocalyptic extraction shooter has resonated with a lot of gamers, pulling in some truly impressive numbers. However, that player count has declined since its first days. The game is still one of the most popular shooter titles at the moment, but this dip in players could be a solid moment of opportunity for its biggest competition: Marathon.

As ARC Raiders’ Player Count Starts to Settle, Marathon is Waiting Around the Corner Ready to Pounce

Marathon‘s story is one filled with highs and lows. It was announced in 2023, followed by a long bout of silence. April 2025 changed that, though. Developer Bungie released a visually fantastic trailer directed by Alberto Mielgo, which quickly made waves across the internet. There was a lot of positive feedback regarding the game’s art direction, but some were left skeptical about the overall game. Bungie revealed that a closed alpha test would happen between April 23 and May 4 to make sure that the game was satisfactory before its September 2025 debut. This would prove to be the first big hiccup in Marathon‘s road to release.

Rearrange the covers into the correct US release order.

Easy (5)Medium (7)Hard (10)

Marathon and Bungie’s Rough 2025

After the alpha test, participants were left disappointed. This ultimately led to Bungie deciding to delay the game indefinitely. That wasn’t the only issue Marathon faced between April and May 2025, though. In May, artist Antireal accused Bungie of plagiarizing her artwork and using it for some of Marathon‘s design. Bungie eventually came forward confirming her claims, revealing that a former artist who worked at the studio included Antireal’s designs without the rest of the team knowing. It was a one-two punch of bad press that covered Marathon in a cloud of skepticism. The Marathon art controversy was eventually resolved, but Bungie kept tight-lipped about when a new release date would be planned. That silence was finally broken this year.

On January 19, Bungie revealed Marathon‘s new release date: March 5, 2026. There are now only a few short weeks left until Marathon launches, and ARC Raiders may need to be on guard when that day comes.

ARC Raiders Has Lost A Lot of Players Since Its October Launch

ARC Raiders‘ all-time peak on Steam was 481,966 players on November 16, 2025.
At the time of writing this article, the Steam player count is 206,424.

To be clear, the lower player count is still a number that most games would kill for. ARC Raiders has been able to maintain a consistent player base incredibly well. Consistency really is the ultimate key to longevity, but Marathon is closing in as the first real competitor in its space. Once the game is here, it’s going to be impossible not to compare ARC Raiders and Marathon. The two games have the chance to ignite a new rivalry that’s on par with Call of Duty vs. Battlefield if Marathon delivers.

The End of February is Already Pitting ARC Raiders and Marathon Against One Another

ARC Raiders‘ Shrouded Sky update arrives on February 24.
Marathon‘s server slam goes live on February 26.

ARC Raiders‘ Shrouded Sky update is adding some exciting environmental shake-ups, like hurricanes. The extraction shooter has built a solid world that allows Embark Studios to gradually build and evolve with these kinds of updates, so ARC Raiders really has that going for it. This approach keeps things fresh, but Marathon‘s server slam may entice some ARC Raiders fans to check out a different take on the genre. Even beyond the server slam, there are bound to be ARC Raiders players who may have grown bored and are in search of something new. Embark Studios has done a good job of keeping ARC Raiders exciting, but some players may simply have a craving that only a new game can satisfy.

The Shrouded Sky update is also finally adding beards for characters.

Marathon has had a rough journey getting to this moment, but it’s going to be fascinating to see if the extra time in the oven has paid off for Bungie. Even though the closed alpha tests didn’t go according to plan, the server slam has the potential to mark a new chapter for the game. If that goes well, then ARC Raiders will have a truly worthy competitor. There are some good extraction shooters out there, but it’s clear that ARC Raiders is now the king of the genre. Having another major extraction shooter thrown into the mix won’t only just be good for competition, it will further cement extraction shooters as the next big genre.

ARC Raiders and Marathon will also be the same price point at $39.99.

Games like Wolfenstein 3D and Doom started the FPS trend, Call of Duty popularized the military shooter, and Fortnite created a tsunami-sized wave of battle royale clones and live-service titles. It feels like the time for something new to take hold of the industry is now, and ARC Raiders and Marathon going head-to-head could be the thrilling start of a new era. If all goes well for Marathon‘s server slam, it will be fascinating to see how ARC Raiders responds to another heavy-hitter in its territory. Only time will tell, but watching the feedback to Marathon‘s release is going to be compelling. Bungie has more than likely improved Marathon‘s gameplay and overall content, and this has the potential to convert current ARC Raiders players for good.