Marathon developer Bungie has outlined its plans for how it plans to protect players’ experience with dedicated servers, new networking systems, and a no-nonsense policy on cheaters. The studio behind Destiny 2 and Halo is currently gearing up to take on the likes of Escape From Tarkov and ARC Raiders with its new extraction shooter, Marathon, which players will be able to check out for free later this week during a new Server Slam.
Initially revealed in 2023, Bungie was set to launch Marathon, a reimagining of the iconic FPS series from the 1990s, in 2025. But after fans got the chance to go hands-on with the shooter during a closed alpha test, the studio opted to delay Marathon indefinitely due to largely negative feedback from those who had the chance to play it. In response to the feedback, Bungie got to work on making numerous improvements across the board. This included updates to core gameplay mechanics, such as the behavior of AI, time-to-kill adjustments, various balancing tweaks, and new social features, like proximity chat. Now, with its release date just a little over a week away, Bungie is detailing its networking plans and security features.
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Marathon Reveals Networking Plans And Anti-Cheat Measures
In a new blog post released on February 23, Bungie revealed tons of new details about its networking plans and anti-cheat measures for Marathon. The shooter will have dedicated servers that are fully authoritative on key combat and looting actions, providing a layer of protection against cheating, a new networking system to allow player movement and actions to feel responsive, and a new system known as ‘Fog of War’, which will limit the regions of the map that individual player clients have knowledge of in order to limit the effectiveness of various cheats, including wall hacks and loot revealers.
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Bungie also says it has rebuilt its game security stack from the ground up, which will also be accompanied by the extra layer of security provided by BattlEye. For those who do manage to breach these anti-cheat measures, the developer says that anybody who is found to be cheating will be permanently banned from playing Marathong forever, no second chances. This is something that fans have been calling for Embark Studios to implement in its extraction shooter for many months now, as ARC Raiders has a controversial three-strike system when it comes to cheaters, allowing offenders to continue playing the game once their suspension is up.
In terms of Marathon‘s networking, the studio has confirmed that anybody who loses connection mid-run can reconnect and continue playing. However, if reconnection fails due to an issue with Bungie’s server or network infrastructure, the team will attempt to return the starting gear to all impacted players. It should be noted that this will not be the case with any internet connectivity or client-side problems, so anybody who is disconnected due to their own internet issues won’t have their gear returned to them.
These details have arrived just days before players get to jump into Marathon for its final Server Slam. While the shooter isn’t set to launch until March 5, those on the fence about purchasing the shooter will be able to play for free on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC between February 26 and March 2.
There’s no pre-order requirement to play in Marathon‘s Server Slam, and anybody who does take part will be able to earn some exclusive rewards ready for launch. Completing the first mission will unlock the Standard Arrival Cache, while reaching level 10 will unlock the Enhanced Arrival Cache. Finally, anybody who reaches level 30 will receive all of the previously mentioned rewards and a Deluxe Arrival Cache.
- Released
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March 5, 2026
- ESRB
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Teen / Animated Blood, Language, Violence, In-Game Purchases, Users Interact
- Multiplayer
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Online Multiplayer, Online Co-Op