Marathon is taking an uncompromising stance against cheating. Bungie has confirmed that anyone caught cheating in Marathon will be permanently banned from the game with no second chances.
The studio made its position clear in an official update and reiterated it on social media (X), stating that cheating or developing cheats will result in an immediate and irreversible ban. Bungie says the goal is simple: every death on Tau Ceti IV should happen because of player mistakes or enemy skill, not exploits or network abuse .
Bungie has rebuilt Marathon’s networking model around fully authoritative dedicated servers. The server controls movement, shooting, actions, and inventory, which blocks common exploits like teleporting, unlimited ammo, or damage manipulation before they affect other players.
This setup also improves gunplay reliability. Each shot receives server-side tracking with rewind and aim compensation, which helps ensure fair hit registration even during fast movement or minor packet loss. Bungie says this design prevents situations where players get shot after reaching cover.
Fog of War Limits Wall Hacks and ESP Cheats
Marathon introduces a server-driven Fog of War system that restricts what each player’s client can see on the map. Players only receive information they should logically know based on their surroundings.
This system directly targets wall hacks, ESP tools, and loot reveal cheats by hiding enemy positions and container contents unless they are legitimately visible. Bungie confirms the Fog of War runs entirely on the server, which reduces the effectiveness of client-side memory scanning.
BattlEye and New Client Security Layers
Alongside server protections, Marathon uses BattlEye as an additional security layer. Bungie has also added new proprietary client-side protections, including both user-mode and kernel-level components.
The studio avoids sharing deep technical details but confirms that its security systems constantly collect gameplay telemetry. Analysts review unusual patterns even after matches end, which means cheaters may still face bans later if suspicious behavior appears in the data.
Disconnect Recovery Protects Legitimate Players
Bungie also addressed a common frustration in extraction shooters: losing progress due to disconnections. If a player disconnects mid-run, Marathon allows them to reconnect and continue the same session.
If a reconnection fails because of Bungie’s server or network issues, the game will attempt to return the starting gear to affected players. This protection does not apply to local internet or hardware problems.
No Second Chances, Appeals Still Exist
Bungie describes its policy as non-negotiable. Any confirmed cheating leads to a permanent ban from Marathon forever. The studio does confirm that an appeals system will exist to review potential detection errors, but the zero-tolerance rule remains unchanged.
The first large-scale test of these systems begins with Marathon’s Server Slam event starting February 26, where all security tools will be active from day one.
With this approach, Bungie is sending a clear message ahead of launch: Marathon will not tolerate cheaters, and fair competition is a core design priority, not an afterthought.
