As controversy continues over the laxity of anti-cheat measures in ARC Raiders, Bungie has made its tough stance clear. The developer has announced that any player caught cheating in its upcoming PvPvE shooter Marathon will face a lifetime ban — no warning, no second chance.
In an official blog post, Bungie developers emphasized this non-negotiable attitude: "Anyone caught cheating will be permanently banned from Marathon - no second chances."
The studio acknowledges that it's impossible to completely eliminate cheating in online games. However, Bungie said it is committed to protecting the fairness of the competitive environment.
Marathon uses a dedicated server architecture that can "track every round until it hits the target," along with a new security stack and a "fog of war" system. The latter limits the amount of information sent to the player's client, effectively reducing the effectiveness of perspective, ESP tools, and similar cheats.
"We take a strong stance against cheating," Bungie reiterated in a statement. All protection systems will be fully activated in the "Server Slam" stress test event launched on February 26. Bungie also encourages players to actively report any suspicious behavior.
"Marathon" is scheduled to be officially released on March 5. Can such a strict penalty policy be effective? Or will it ultimately depend on the actual effectiveness of the anti-cheating system? Feel free to share your views in the comment section.