Slay the Spire 2 Conquers Steam's Charts, Surpassing Bungie's Marathon

To the surprise of many, Slay the Spire 2 has overwhelmingly dominated Steam’s charts, significantly outshining Bungie’s anticipated game, Marathon, in terms of concurrent players. The latest statistics show over 350,000 players engaging with Slay the Spire 2 simultaneously, placing it among the top-played games on the platform, just behind giants like PUBG, Dota 2, and Counter-Strike 2.

Behind the Numbers

Meanwhile, Marathon reached a peak of 88,337 players on its launch day. Bungie, now under increased scrutiny, will likely hope for better figures as the game approaches its first weekend.

Reactions from MegaCrit

Casey Yano, co-founder of Slay the Spire developer MegaCrit, took to social media to express his disbelief at his game’s unexpected success compared to Marathon. A previous tweet by MegaCrit congratulating the Marathon team seemed to contain unintended sarcasm, declaring, «Don’t let small indie passion projects like this pass you by just because Slay the Spire 2 is out.»

«This seems a bit meaner than it was intended,» Casey Yano admitted. «To be fair I didn’t think we’d actually pass Marathon in concurrent users.»

The initial message, viewed half a million times, prompted further clarifications. MegaCrit explained, «it wasn’t supposed to be shade, we were being sarcastic 😭 did not know we’d blow up quite to the degree that we did…» Bungie’s community manager Cozmo joined the conversation, offering his congratulations.

The Impact on Roguelikes

Slay the Spire 2’s triumph has not only eclipsed Marathon but also propelled it to historical heights in the roguelike genre, surpassing Mewgenics and leaving Hades 2 behind. This unexpected success reflects the game’s unique blending of deckbuilding and roguelike elements.

The sequel to the acclaimed first game, which secured a 9/10 review in 2019, is currently available on PC in early access. Fans can anticipate console versions upon its full release.