Some issues were reported on Steam last night as both Slay the Spire 2 and Marathon launched at the same time. With one game being an extraction shooter, and another being a deck-building roguelike, it’s hard to see how they could have stolen each other’s audience, but it seems that one has clearly won out over the other on the PC platform.
Via SteamDB, looking at the numbers for Marathon’s launch, they peak at 88,337 for the last 24 hours. This is likely to pick up over the weekend as more people get a chance to jump on the game after a busy time at work. Looking at Slay the Spire 2’s numbers, however, it’s clear to see where Steam players prefer to spend their time, as the highest number of players in the 24 hours since launch is a whopping 288,314.
There are a number of factors that explain why Slay the Spire 2 markets Marathon in this way. First, it’s a sequel, which means it already has an existing fan base. Also, Slay the Spire 2 in Early Access is only playable on Steam, while Marathon can also be purchased on consoles. Slay the Spire 2 is also a cheaper game, although that probably isn’t a leading factor when people decide which game to play.
Marathon probably shouldn’t worry too much about the rise of a card-based deck builder, and should instead look to something like ARC Raiders for competition. Embark’s extraction shooter continues to dominate Steam, boasting a 24-hour peak of 192,003 players, more than 100,000 more than Marathon.
