It’s 59 seconds to launch and the progress bar stalls. I feel the tiny betrayal of a download that refuses to finish. You curse the delay and ask yourself if pre-loading would have saved the day.
I’ve pre-loaded more games than I can count; I’ll show you the exact steps for Steam, PlayStation, and Xbox, the file sizes you’ll need to carve out, and the small decisions that shave minutes off launch day.
You open your library and the pre-load prompt is waiting. How to pre-load Marathon
How do I pre-load Marathon on Steam?
Open Steam, find Marathon in your library, and click the pre-load option. If multiple titles are queued, choose Marathon manually — Steam won’t guess for you. The client handles download and install automatically; after that it’s just patience until launch.
Can I pre-load Marathon on PlayStation or Xbox?
On PlayStation, open the PSN store or your library, find Marathon, and start the download from the game page. The PS5 handles install and background updates, so once it’s pre-downloaded you’re ready on day one.
On Xbox, the process is the same — go to the Store or your library and begin the download. Remember: if you haven’t purchased the game you’ll need to buy it first. Pick the Deluxe edition if you want bonus cosmetics for weapons and runners; it’s the edition most players pick for extras.
Your console or PC drive tells you how much breathing room you have. All Marathon pre-load sizes
Marathon downloaded about 15 GB during the Server Slam tests, and the full release only grows a little from that. Your drive is a curated shelf; clearing space is spring cleaning for pixels.
- PlayStation: 15 GB
- Steam: 17 GB
- Xbox: 18 GB
I expected larger files given the added content from Server Slam, so if you’re tight on space this is good news. Pre-loading won’t give early access — it only saves minutes on launch day — but those minutes can mean joining friends on the first match instead of waiting for downloads.
I use Steam’s download scheduling, PSN’s background downloads on the PS5, and the Xbox network settings to manage bandwidth; pick whichever tool matches your setup so downloads don’t compete with a streaming session.
You can delete old game installs, move large media files to external storage, or use cloud backup tools to free the space you need — small housekeeping now avoids launch-day scramble?