Marathon is getting stronger playtime from Xbox users than expected

Marathon is a PlayStation Studios game because Bungie is owned by Sony, but new engagement data suggests Xbox players are spending a lot of time with it. That makes the result interesting, especially at a time when both Xbox and PlayStation are bringing more games to rival platforms.

According to Circana data shared by analyst Mat Piscatella, Marathon was the top game on Xbox in the U.S. for weekly average hours played per user for the week ending April 18, 2026. This does not mean it had the most players overall. It means the Xbox users who did play it spent more time with it on average than players spent with other games on the platform.

Marathon’s Xbox result shows why player engagement can tell a different story than sales or player count

This is where the story becomes more interesting. Marathon was not listed as one of the top 10 most-played Xbox games by total player count in the U.S., according to the reference article. That means it may not be reaching a huge Xbox audience, but the players who are showing up are staying for long sessions.

That is a very different kind of success. A game can have a large number of casual players who only try it once or twice. Another game can have a smaller group of players who return often and spend many hours inside it. Marathon appears to be closer to the second case on Xbox, at least for this specific week.

Here is how the top three looked for average hours played per user in the U.S. for the week ending April 18:

The PlayStation result is also notable because Marathon did not appear in the top three there. Instead, Starfield took third place on PlayStation after launching on Sony’s console following its earlier Xbox and PC release. That makes the platform split more unusual: a Sony-owned game is showing stronger average playtime on Xbox, while a Microsoft-owned game is showing up among PlayStation’s top engagement leaders.

For Bungie, the Xbox result could still be useful. Marathon has had a mixed conversation around it, and it may not be a mass-market hit on every platform. But strong playtime from a smaller group can still show that the game has found a serious audience. For a multiplayer shooter, that kind of committed player base matters because long-term support depends on people returning regularly.

It also says something about Xbox players. The platform has always had a strong shooter audience, from Halo and Gears of War to Call of Duty and Destiny. Marathon may be a PlayStation Studios release, but its style could still fit naturally with many Xbox users.

The result should not be taken as proof that Marathon is suddenly dominating everywhere. It is one metric, from one week, in the U.S. market. Still, it is a useful reminder that player count, sales, and playtime are not the same thing. Marathon may not have the widest reach on Xbox, but the players who are there seem to be giving it serious time.