Marathon is enjoying some unexpected Ws, with pre-orders flying on Steam and a cast that exposes Arc Raiders' big weakness

In the last couple of weeks, my excitement for Marathon has only grown, as has my confidence that Bungie's extraction shooter will be around for the long-haul. A project I was previously concerned about is now right up near the top of my most anticipated games for this year, and it seems that swing is being felt far more widely. Following Bungie's confirmation of the Marathon release date, and pre-orders going live, you'll now find the FPS game sitting in the top five best-selling games on Steam, according to Valve's Top Sellers chart. Plus, its reveal of a stacked cast of voice actors is being highly praised, as it targets one of Arc Raiders' biggest weak points.

I was previously of the opinion that the massively successful Arc Raiders would be a thorn in the side for Marathon. Initially set to launch around five weeks before its much-hyped rival, I envisaged a world where it would be completely buried by Embark's extraction shooter. Now, I wonder if it may be the thing that helps save it. Over the last couple of months, the genre's mainstream popularity has grown, and even though Marathon appears to be a more challenging experience with first-person gunplay, deeper buildcrafting, and more encouragement of PvP, it'll no doubt benefit from that.

The previously underwhelming snapshots of gameplay that Bungie released throughout 2025 have also now been forgotten. Newer footage of Marathon, including the full reveal of its lineup of Runner Shells last week, have looked far more polished, vibrant, and exciting. Confirmation of an Arc Raiders-matching price point of $39.99 / £34.99 has also reassured a lot of folks out there, although this has been on the cards for a while.

However, a real surprise that I didn't expect is the reveal of a huge cast of big-name voice actors. We know that Bungie's been putting a lot of energy into Marathon's presentation (despite that very disappointing art plagiarism saga) and this is further proof it wants to deliver on quality. The cast includes Expedition 33 stars Ben Starr and Jennifer English; Baldur's Gate 3's Neil Newbon, Samantha Béart, and Tracy Wiles; Roger Clark, who plays Arthur Morgan in Red Dead Redemption 2; Elias Toufexis, perhaps best known as the voice of Deus Ex protagonist Adam Jensen; and many more experienced performers.

I'm sure Bungie always planned to have a strong cast, so I won't comment on whether this is coincidental or targeted, but it does aim right for one of the weakest elements of Arc Raiders - its sub-par voicelines, which are generated using a mixture of actual voice work and generative AI. While there are of course plenty of other complaints relating to gameplay, progression systems, and cheaters, the one area where everyone agrees Arc Raiders falls short is with its often robotic-sounding voice lines. While less noticeable when simply pinging items, enemies, or locations, the low quality is really felt when interacting with NPC traders in between matches. Embark told me earlier this month it could "revise" this in the future now it has more resources following the game's success, but it hasn't officially announced plans to replace its voice lines yet.

So, overall, some notable wins for Marathon, and I genuinely think that Bungie has flipped the script here based on the vibes and sentiment I now see in the community. But I've got harder proof than simply 'vibes.' As was highlighted by Forbes' Paul Tassi, Marathon is currently the fifth best-selling game on Steam thanks to its flurry of pre-orders. While it appears sixth in Valve's Top Sellers list, I think we can all agree to exclude hardware like the Steam Deck (currently third) from this equation.

Admittedly, it's a fairly quiet time for major new releases right now, so competition on this chart is fairly low. But to see Arc Raiders and Fallout 76 as the only paid games out-selling it is an encouraging sign indeed. The other titles above it, Marvel Rivals and Counter-Strike 2 are free PC games.

So, when March 5 rolls around, Marathon might not be the disappointment we all feared it would be last year. The signs are actually looking encouraging, and while I don't foresee a world where it permanently overtakes Arc Raiders as the number one extraction shooter in town, I'm more optimistic than ever that it'll find a substantial audience.