- What sort of game is Marathon.
- The zero tolerance policy of Bungie.
- Bungie’s future plan and what they require from players.
Bungie is narrowing down on cheaters in the game, saying that it has a zero tolerance policy for cheaters, while also explaining more about its anti-cheat tools.
What Is Marathon?
Marathon is a competitive sci-fi PvPvE First Person extraction shooter made by Bungie Studios the same creators behind title Destiny 2. It’s currently available on PS5, Xbox Series X, Series S and PC. In this game you act as a “Runner” traversing the alien planet Tau Ceti IV to loot gear. While looting you may encounter other enemy hostile players and NPCs enemies, which may turn into a gunfight. The goal of the game is go in your own gear and loot high value gear by either looting or killing other enemy players or NPCs and extract out safely. So it’s a high stake lose everything on death or win everything mechanics.
Similar to other video games like Escape From Tarkov (EFT), Arena Breakout Infinite or Arc Raiders all coming under the same bet of extraction shooter genre. Released on 5th March 2026, Marathon has been something of an odd case in the extraction shooter genre. The conversation leading up to the launch was largely negative, as Bungie battle plagiarism controversies and critiques expressed distaste over the art direction. The conversation improved after Bungie delayed the game and it to carve out some space in the increasingly crowded extraction shooter genre.
We immediately investigated a concern regarding unauthorized use of artist decals in Marathon and confirmed that a former Bungie artist included these in a texture sheet that was ultimately used in-game.
— Marathon Development Team (@MarathonDevTeam) May 16, 2025
Devs Response to Cheaters in Game
Over on Twitter, the official Marathon Development Team shared an update about “cheaters, toxicity, and competitive integrity” in the game. The developers stated that it’s actively banning cheaters, maintaining its zero-tolerance policy for anyone who abuses the game and no second chances are given to anyone if they are caught cheating. With that Bungie is also diving in on It’s reporting tools for cheating and toxic behaviour. The most significant change is making it easier to flag suspected cheater in game and via web tools.
We’ve seen the conversation about cheaters, toxicity, and competitive integrity in Marathon, so here’s a quick update from our Product Security team.
— Marathon Development Team (@MarathonDevTeam) April 7, 2026
Detection & enforcement: We have a zero-tolerance policy around cheating. We’re actively banning confirmed cheaters and expanding…
In the long term of schemes 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 team for better protections. Potential solution include name privacy option, 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 behaviour.
Bungie’s Future Plans And How Players Can Help Improve The Game
An even playing field is crucial to any game’s long term health, so for an extraction shooter where death can set back hours of progress, Marathon’s long term health should be a focus for Bungie, especially this early on. Marathon’s player count is down by 59% since the launch in March and cheaters might be a huge part of what’s causing this decline.
The fear is that it will shut down if the player count dips too low, as it has happened with other games before like Concorrd and Highguard. However even with the decline, this situation doesn’t seem nearly as extreme for now for this Bungee has been dropping marathon updates at a relatively high pace, introducing minor tweaks and balance changes in addition to larger drops like the Cryo Archive Map. While fans consider that Marathon might shut down are understandable given the current game industry landscape and how games have been shutting down lately due to low player counts. Bungie has committed to sticking with Marathon for a long haul.
How we as a player can improve and help keep Marathon alive in the near future, is by anyone who has encountered cheaters in Marathons should start collecting and reporting evidence of misdeed now. While it can seem like a never ending battle to remove them from the game, but the community involvement makes it far easier to clean up a player base and that leads to more enjoyable experience for everyone looking to play marathon, without the concern of cheaters ruining their raids.
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