Some Marathon fans are planning a “revival” week of activities to try and boost the profile of the floundering shooter.
Created by the team behind hit live-service game Destiny 2, Marathon launched in March but has struggled with attracting players. At launch, more than 88,000 people were playing the sci-fi extraction shooter concurrently via Steam but that number soon dropped below 10,000 and has never recovered.
Last month, Sony confirmed that staff at Marathon game developers Bungie would be laid off following the shutdown of Destiny 2. “Marathon remains an important part of our portfolio, and we will continue to support the team as they build on the strong foundation established in Season 1 and 2, and as they work on incubation efforts for future projects,” Sony added in a blog post. “While it’s too early to discuss, we are encouraged by the creativity and opportunities that lie ahead.”
However some Marathon fans are taking it upon themselves to try and turn around the fortunes of the ailing shooter. Taking to Reddit, ChrisVip3 shared a post with details of a “revival” week. The original post has been removed by moderators, but has been reshared across social media.
Some Marathon players are organizing a community event called Marathon Revival Week, which will take place from July 21 to July 28.
The idea is simple: invite a friend to try the game, help new players get started and leave a review if you’ve enjoyed the game. The community… pic.twitter.com/unaQe2X9QV
— Pirat_Nation
(@Pirat_Nation) July 15, 2026
The “community effort” is “not because the game is dead,” they wrote. “It’s to boost our current numbers and thrive. Bungie created something truly special and we all know it.”
As part of the Marathon Revival Week (which takes place July 21 to 28), players are encouraged to invite a friend to play the game and ask streamers or influencers to talk about the game. “It may only take one to truly make a difference”.
Marathon players have also been encouraged to “shift the culture for a week” by being friendlier to newcomers as well as post clips of the game across social media and leave positive reviews on steam. However the planned revival week is getting a mixed response on social media.
“That’s just sad,” wrote one X user. “Marathon players need to stop being delusional, and face reality. The game is dead,” added another.
In other news, Grand Theft Auto 6 is the “last great game” we’ll get before AI tools take over development, claims one video game analyst.
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