Marathon Server Slam kicks off with 143,000 concurrent players on Steam

Bungie's public test event for its upcoming extraction shooter Marathon has peaked at over 143,000 concurrent players during its first day, with the number expected to climb over the weekend.

The details:

• Earlier this month, Bungie announced that it would be hosting the “Marathon Server Slam” from February 26 to March 2, allowing fans to play a pre-release version of the extraction shooter reboot for free on all platforms. According to SteamDB, the test achieved an impressive peak concurrent player count of 143,621 players on its first day, which will likely be surpassed as more players hop in throughout the weekend.
• Arc Raiders, developed by Embark Studios, is seen as a direct rival to Marathon due to its popularity within the extraction shooter genre. Back in October, Arc Raiders held a similar test, which also surpassed 100,000 concurrent players, with the game later reaching a peak of 189,668.
• Marathon is currently sitting in the top three on Steam's best-selling games chart, trailing only Resident Evil Requiem and Counter-Strike 2, and two places above Arc Raiders, which sits at number five.
• The purpose of the Server Slam is to stress-test the game’s servers ahead of its full launch on March 5. Those who participate can earn various in-game rewards, notably weapon charms inspired by Ghost of Tsushima, Destiny 2, and Helldivers 2 for PlayStation 5 players, while Xbox and PC players will receive Minecraft and Half-Life 2 charms, respectively.