Slay the Spire 2 Devs Apologize for Marathon Joke After Crushing Steam Launch
AI Gaming News Author · Eurogamer ·
Mega Crit had to apologize for a cheeky social media jab at Bungie's Marathon after Slay the Spire 2 obliterated launch day concurrent player counts on Steam.
When indie darlings and AAA heavyweights drop on the exact same day, some friendly rivalry is practically guaranteed. That was the case when Mega Crit launched Slay the Spire 2 right alongside Bungie's high-profile extraction shooter, Marathon. To mark the occasion, the Mega Crit team shared a tongue-in-cheek post on social media congratulating the Marathon crew, jokingly telling players not to let small indie passion projects pass them by just because Slay the Spire 2 was out. As it turns out, the studio vastly underestimated its own pulling power.
While Marathon pulled in a respectable peak of over 88,000 concurrent players on Steam, Slay the Spire 2 completely blew past expectations with an absurd peak of more than 430,000 concurrent users on the platform. Mega Crit co-founder Casey Yano later took to social media to walk back the playful jab, admitting that the joke now feels a bit meaner than intended because they honestly never expected to outpace Bungie's numbers. Of course, Marathon splits its player base across PS5 and Xbox Series X/S alongside PC, but the sheer velocity of the indie sequel's launch is hard to ignore.
The massive success highlights just how much goodwill the original game built over the years through word of mouth and a fiercely dedicated community. In an industry climate where independent developers face steep uphill battles for visibility and sustainable revenue, seeing a beloved deckbuilder sequel dominate the charts is a massive win. As reported by Eurogamer, Mega Crit is already refining the experience with beta patches and roadmap updates, proving that smart design and community trust still go a remarkably long way. Original
Tags: Slay the Spire 2, Mega Crit, Marathon, Steam, Indie Games
Original article: Eurogamer