Marathon is in a rough spot right now. Bungie's next big game is just months away from launch, but instead of celebrating the game, the studio is embroiled in a plagiarism scandal. Bungie is addressing this now, but it adds to some pushback from the community regarding the game's pricing, and some hang ups from the closed beta.
Despite this, it seems that Bungie and Sony have very high expectations for Marathon. According to journalist Paul Tassi, Marathon will have to be in the top five best-selling games of 2025 to be considered a success - and there's some tough competition.
"I don't expect this to be a success," says Tassi. "I heard this needed to be in the top five NPD sales for the year if it's going to be a success, or considered a success. Crazy. There's no way. [...] That seems impossible to me."
Tassi cites the relatively poor performance of the closed beta as proof of this, although we are set to get more early previews before launch. It's possible that these will attract more attention, especially now that we've seen more of the game.
Marathon, Helldivers 2, Arc Raiders, Mycopunk, and a canceled Titanfall extraction...
