Popular live streamer Shroud has commented on his opinion of Bungie's Marathon could suffer the same fate as Harmony and Highguard and shut down quickly after it is released. Harmony and Highguard are arguably two of the highest-profile live-service bugs to date, and are notable for how quickly their developers pulled the plug on the servers after launch. Some players wanted to know if the Shroud was felt Marathon could go in a similar direction.
Marathon is the latest addition to the extraction shooter genre, which has gained immense popularity in recent times thanks to the success of ARC Raiders. The game has a star-studded voice cast, including Roger Clark, Ben Starr, Jennifer English and Neil Newbon, but despite the big names, Marathon has not yet dethroned ARC Raiders' huge number of players. However, user reviews for the game are “Very Positive” on Steam, so players are largely enjoying their time with the game so far. With the shutdowns off Harmony and Highguard still fresh in the mind, any live service game that doesn't immediately take the world by storm will always face questions about its future.
Marathon AI is so “deadly” it can limit PvP, Bungie says
Bungie is officially commenting on complaints about Marathon's PvP rate, suggesting the issue may be linked to the game's deadly bots.
The case says that “too much money” was invested for Marathon to be shut down
FPS streamer Shroud spoke during a recent livestream about whether he's thinking Marathon could follow Harmony and Highguards footsteps by facing a quick shutdown. “Is this game going to die in a month or two or not?” he said. “Definitely not. There's literally, it's not going to happen. They've invested too much money, haven't they? Highguard and Harmonywhat makes them a little different is that they're new studios that were created with, you know, investor funding. They get their $30 million to make a game, and they shoot their shot. But a game like this, it's Bungie, bro. They f****** are backed by Sony. They have billions of dollars.”
Shroud has long been one of the biggest Twitch streamers, following a previous career as Counter-Strike: Global Offensive esports professional. His opinions carry a lot of weight, and Shroud is known for his bold views on the latest games on the market. He decided to go a little further Marathonclaiming that even a monumental collapse in player count wouldn't make Bungie walk away from the game. “Even if they had five players, I don't think they could do it,” he explained. “It's just the cost of failure. You're too invested at this point.”
Although all three are live service titles, it would feel a bit harsh to compare completely Marathon with Harmony and Highguard at this time. Marathon launched with an all-time high of 88,337 on Steam, with numbers on other platforms unknown. While this is below Highguardhighest Steam player count of 97,249, Marathon has had very strong word of mouth, which could help it retain players much longer. Harmony sits in a league of its own among video game failures, attracting a peak Steam player count of just 697.
The coming weeks and months will be crucial Marathonand it's off to a strong start thanks to its positive user reviews. As with most live service games, a lot will depend on Bungie's ability to keep players around, rather than seeing a quick drop off. Hopefully, the developer will continue to release plenty of new content for the game to encourage players to stick around Marathonand maybe even see increased player numbers in the future. The live service space is notoriously difficult to break into, so it won't be easy, even for an experienced studio like Bungie.
- Released
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March 5, 2026
- ESRB
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Teen/animated blood, language, violence, in-game purchases, user interaction
- Multiplayer
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Online Multiplayer, Online Co-Op
