Summary
According toMarathon’s game director, the upcoming Bungie extraction shooter won’t have proximity chat for players due to the potential for toxicity. It’s been a long road for Bungie’s revival of theMarathonfranchise, with the newest game seemingly going through plenty of bumps during development. However, the light is now at the end of the tunnel withMarathonfinally approaching its launch.
April 11 was a major milestone for Bungie as the company finally gave players tons ofnew information aboutMarathon, including showing off new trailers and gameplay. It’s been a long road for Marathon, but with a September 23 release date, launch is finally in sight. After announcing six starting classes for launch with 3 maps, Bungie is gearing up for months of new announcements and reveals, though one game feature confirmation may leave potential players divided.
During an interview withPC Gamerfollowing the reveal,Marathongame director Joe Ziegler confirmed that Bungie is still trying to find a solution to potential toxicity and won’t have a proximity chat feature. Ziegler admitted the difficulties of moderating player toxicity and that he doesn’t think “anyone really has a good solution to that just yet.“Proximity chat is a common feature for games likeFortnite, allowing players to communicate with one another when close by, but the trade-off is that players can’t control what they hear from others, whether it be good-natured or otherwise.
Marathon Won’t Have Proximity Chat Feature Initially
Ziegler did confirm that Bungie isn’t against the experience of proximity chat, though the studio hasn’t found a solution to combating toxicity just yet. So, while it’s possible the feature does get added down the road, potentially sooner if players become vocal enough onceMarathonlaunches in September, Bungie doesn’t seem to be willing to add it just for the sake of adding it until it comes up with a viable solution for creating a safe environment for all players.
“I don’t think anyone really has a good solution to that just yet. Because we’re so dedicated to making sure that we’re creating a safe space where we don’t have players just flaming each other or doing terrible things to one another, I think we’re not ready to invest in prox chat until we have a solution.”
While Bungie isn’t closing the door entirely on eventually adding a proximity chat-like feature once it figures out a solution to the toxicity issue, the news still appears to be mixed with the community. Other extraction shooters have seemingly worked around toxicity by adding in the ability to manually turn off the feature entirely, allowing players to engage with it only if they want. It’s clear thatproximity chat in games likeHunt Showdown,Call of Duty: Warzone, andDayZenhances the shooter experience for many, so there’s hope from fans that Bungie will eventually be able to implement some form forMarathon.
Marathon
WHERE TO PLAY
From the creators of Halo and Destiny…Scavenge the lost colony of Tau Ceti IV in Bungie’s team-based FPS extraction shooter. Choose your Runner and work together in crews of three as you battle rival teams and hostile security forces for weapons and upgrades. Survive and your loot is yours to keep for future runs on Tau Ceti—or if you’re brave enough, a journey to the derelict Marathon ship that hangs above.Become a Runner:Choose from a roster of cybernetic mercenaries with unique abilities. Customize your playstyle with the weapons, implants, and equipment you collect on your runs. Every match is a chance to experiment, buildcraft, and come back stronger.Welcome to Tau Ceti IV:What once was a thriving colony is now a battleground for rival factions competing for power and fortune, hiring Runners to track down weapons, valuables, and the edge they need to win.Fun and competitive at all skill levels:Bungie’s best-in-class first person gunplay makes playing at every skill level satisfying. With multiple maps to choose from, you can sharpen your skills in starter areas, then challenge yourself in high-stakes zones and Ranked mode in season one.
