So Marathon just cracked Steam's top 10 best-sellers. The game isn't out until March 5th. It doesn't even have a playable demo available to the public. But sure, let's all throw money at Bungie for another live service extraction shooter. What could possibly go wrong?

Within hours of pre-orders opening, Marathon hit #5 on Steam's US charts. The $40 price tag apparently isn't scaring anyone off, even though we've watched extraction shooters crash and burn left and right over the past few years. Remember when everyone was making battle royales? This is that, but sweatier.

To be fair - and I hate giving Bungie any credit after the Destiny 2 content vault disaster - the closed beta apparently didn't suck. Reddit's full of people saying they were ready to write the game off but came away impressed. Voice cast is stacked too: Ben Starr, Jennifer English, Neil Newbon. These are people who know how to sell a story.

But let's talk about what we're actually pre-ordering here. An extraction shooter. You know, that genre where you drop in, grab loot, and try to extract before someone shoots you in the back. Tarkov does it. The Cycle tried it and died. Arc Raiders is trying it. Now Bungie wants in.

The kicker? Marathon's development has been a mess. Plagiarism accusations. Indefinite delays. Reports of low employee morale. The kind of pre-launch drama that usually means "maybe wait for reviews." But nope, we're buying it sight unseen because it has the Bungie logo on it.

Here's my thing: I want this to be good. The original Marathon trilogy is legendary. Bungie knows how to make a shooter feel incredible - say what you want about Destiny's story, but the gunplay is chef's kiss. And extraction shooters, when done right, deliver some of the most intense PvP moments in gaming.

But pre-ordering a live service game in 2026? That's how we ended up with Anthem. Fallout 76. Babylon's Fall. The list goes on. These companies have trained us like Pavlov's dogs to throw money at promises and then act surprised when the servers are dead six months later.

The fact that it's already a top seller means one of two things: either that closed beta was really that good, or gamers have the memory of a goldfish when it comes to pre-order disasters. My money's on the goldfish.

Look, if you played the beta and loved it, I get it. Pre-order away. But if you're just seeing the hype and FOMO-buying because everyone else is? Maybe sit this one out until March 5th and see if the servers can handle launch day. See if the progression system isn't a tedious grind. See if the game is actually fun or just another live service checklist.

Verdict: Would I speedrun this? You can't speedrun an extraction shooter, that's literally the opposite of the game design. But would I play it? Probably. After watching someone else waste 40 bucks first.

I'll be watching launch day with popcorn ready. Either Bungie proves everyone wrong and delivers something special, or we get another case study in why pre-ordering is a scam. Place your bets.