Bungie is cracking down on cheaters in Marathon, stating that it has a zero-tolerance policy for wrongdoers, while also iterating on its anti-cheat tools. For the past few weeks, Marathon fans have discussed what appears to be an influx of cheaters in the game, either real or perceived. With the game still in a fragile state this close to launch, it makes sense that Bungie would prioritize stomping out the issue before it begins to bleed players.
Released in March, Marathon has been something of an odd case in the extraction shooter genre. The conversation leading up to launch was largely negative, as Bungie battled plagiarism controversies and critics expressed distaste over the art direction. The conversation improved after Bungie delayed Marathon, and it's started to carve out some space in the increasingly crowded extraction shooter genre.
Bungie Addresses Marathon Cheaters
Over on Twitter, the official Marathon developer account shared an update about "cheaters, toxicity, and competitive integrity" in the game. The developer stated that it's actively banning cheaters, maintaining its "zero-tolerance" policy for anyone who abuses the game. With that, Bungie is also iterating on Marathon's reporting tools for cheating and toxic behavior. The most significant change is making it easier to flag suspected cheaters in-game and via web tools.
In the long term, Bungie is focusing on improving voice chat moderation tools to help root out repeat abusers, in addition to the tools provided by individual platforms. Bungie is also working on addressing stream sniping, working with its trust and safety teams for better protections. Potential solutions include name privacy options, which would make it more difficult for other players to target streamers. The post ends with a call for fans to continue reporting suspicious and malicious behavior.
An even playing field is crucial to any game's long-term health, doubly so for an extraction shooter, where death can set back hours of progress. And Marathon's long-term health should be a focus for Bungie, especially this early on. While it isn't a perfect metric, Marathon's player count is down 59% since launch, and cheaters might be part of what's fueling the decline. The fear is that Marathon will shut down if the player count dips too low, as has happened with Concord and Highguard. However, even with the decline, Marathon's situation doesn't seem nearly as dire.
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This article originally appeared on GameRant and is republished here with permission.
