TheRetroArcade
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Posts: 1,980
Joined: Feb 2026
Joined: Feb 2026
"It wasn't supposed to be shade, we were being sarcastic 😭."
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Comedy tends to land better when you punch up rather than punch down—but what about when, as you begin to wind up your punch, you go from a highly anticipated indie to the #1 best selling game on Steam, bypassing the likes of Resident Evil Requiem and Marathon? Mega Crit, developers of Slay the Spire 2, found out exactly what that's like this week.
If you missed it, the studio put out a post on X last Thursday that reads, "Congratulations to the Marathon team on their launch! Don't let small indie passion projects like this pass you by just because Slay the Spire 2 is out." Cheeky, but a follow-up from the same day clarifies "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."
Another follow-up from Mega Crit co-founder Casey Yano was posted later. Yano said, "This seems a bit meaner than it was intended… To be fair I didn't think we'd actually pass Marathon in concurrent users."
At least on Steam, Slay the Spire is comfortably ahead of Marathon. As I write this, Marathon has around 47,000 concurrent players according to SteamDB while Slay the Spire 2 has a facemelting 566,000, making it the fourth most played game on the entire platform right now. One population is healthy, but the other is showstopping; Spire has over 300,000 more people playing it than Apex Legends.
I think in either case, the joke is little more than gentle ribbing, but Slay the Spire 2's huge success does alter the context. It seems like Mega Crit genuinely didn't anticipate such a big launch: Yano compared the game to unexciting chicken noodle soup last year, but that's the thing about soup—it's as delicious and popular these days as I assume it was in ancient times and any moment between then and now. It's got its own specialized spoon, for God's sake!
2026 games: All the upcoming gamesBest PC games: Our all-time favoritesFree PC games: Freebie festBest FPS games: Finest gunplayBest RPGs: Grand adventuresBest co-op games: Better together
Keep up to date with the most important stories and the best deals, as picked by the PC Gamer team.
Justin first became enamored with PC gaming when World of Warcraft and Neverwinter Nights 2 rewired his brain as a wide-eyed kid. As time has passed, he's amassed a hefty backlog of retro shooters, CRPGs, and ...Read more: Full article on www.pcgamer.com
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Every Friday
GamesRadar+
Your weekly update on everything you could ever want to know about the games you already love, games we know you're going to love in the near future, and tales from the communities that surround them.
Every Thursday
GTA 6 O'clock
Our special GTA 6 newsletter, with breaking news, insider info, and rumor analysis from the award-winning GTA 6 O'clock experts.
Every Friday
Knowledge
From the creators of Edge: A weekly videogame industry newsletter with analysis from expert writers, guidance from professionals, and insight into what's on the horizon.
Every Thursday
The Setup
Hardware nerds unite, sign up to our free tech newsletter for a weekly digest of the hottest new tech, the latest gadgets on the test bench, and much more.
Every Wednesday
Switch 2 Spotlight
Sign up to our new Switch 2 newsletter, where we bring you the latest talking points on Nintendo's new console each week, bring you up to date on the news, and recommend what games to play.
Every Saturday
The Watchlist
Subscribe for a weekly digest of the movie and TV news that matters, direct to your inbox. From first-look trailers, interviews, reviews and explainers, we've got you covered.
Once a month
SFX
Get sneak previews, exclusive competitions and details of special events each month!
Comedy tends to land better when you punch up rather than punch down—but what about when, as you begin to wind up your punch, you go from a highly anticipated indie to the #1 best selling game on Steam, bypassing the likes of Resident Evil Requiem and Marathon? Mega Crit, developers of Slay the Spire 2, found out exactly what that's like this week.
If you missed it, the studio put out a post on X last Thursday that reads, "Congratulations to the Marathon team on their launch! Don't let small indie passion projects like this pass you by just because Slay the Spire 2 is out." Cheeky, but a follow-up from the same day clarifies "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."
Another follow-up from Mega Crit co-founder Casey Yano was posted later. Yano said, "This seems a bit meaner than it was intended… To be fair I didn't think we'd actually pass Marathon in concurrent users."
At least on Steam, Slay the Spire is comfortably ahead of Marathon. As I write this, Marathon has around 47,000 concurrent players according to SteamDB while Slay the Spire 2 has a facemelting 566,000, making it the fourth most played game on the entire platform right now. One population is healthy, but the other is showstopping; Spire has over 300,000 more people playing it than Apex Legends.
I think in either case, the joke is little more than gentle ribbing, but Slay the Spire 2's huge success does alter the context. It seems like Mega Crit genuinely didn't anticipate such a big launch: Yano compared the game to unexciting chicken noodle soup last year, but that's the thing about soup—it's as delicious and popular these days as I assume it was in ancient times and any moment between then and now. It's got its own specialized spoon, for God's sake!
2026 games: All the upcoming gamesBest PC games: Our all-time favoritesFree PC games: Freebie festBest FPS games: Finest gunplayBest RPGs: Grand adventuresBest co-op games: Better together
Keep up to date with the most important stories and the best deals, as picked by the PC Gamer team.
Justin first became enamored with PC gaming when World of Warcraft and Neverwinter Nights 2 rewired his brain as a wide-eyed kid. As time has passed, he's amassed a hefty backlog of retro shooters, CRPGs, and ...Read more: Full article on www.pcgamer.com
What do you think about this?