Bungie Responds to Criticism by Disabling Controversial Feature in Marathon’s Next Update

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Summary

  • The controversial Mouse Magnetism feature in Marathon’s closed alpha will be disabled in an upcoming patch.
  • Mouse Magnetism acts as an aim assist-like feature for mouse and keyboard users, and its inclusion in Marathon’s closed alpha has bred significant criticism.
  • Players can toggle Mouse Magnetism off, but once the next Marathon closed alpha patch rolls around, the feature will be disabled by default.

As a passionate gamer, I’m sharing some exciting news about “Marathon,” the live-service game we’ve been testing. In the latest announcement by Bungie, they mentioned that they are going to deactivate a feature that sparked quite a debate among us players during the initial closed alpha playtest. The controversial aspect was the aim assist for mouse and keyboard users, which many of us found a bit too helpful. With the upcoming update, this surprising aid will be turned off in the closed alpha, giving us a more challenging and skill-based gaming experience.

Almost two years since its initial announcement, Marathon represents Bungie’s rejuvenation of an aged franchise. This contemporary Marathon adopts a live-service extraction shooter style, distinctly different from the story-focused first-person shooters that preceded it, yet retaining ties to the same universe and advancing the narrative. A sneak peek at Bungie’s Marathon revival has sparked both admiration and apprehension. To alleviate the latter, a closed alpha for Marathon is currently underway.

The closed alpha testing phase for the game “Marathon” started on April 23 and will continue until May 4. Interestingly, Bungie lifted the Non-Disclosure Agreement (NDA) associated with it, allowing players to openly discuss their experiences and opinions about the game. One of the main points of early criticism during this alpha testing was a feature called “Mouse Magnetism.” This aim assist-like function is active by default for mouse and keyboard users on PC. Players found that Mouse Magnetism didn’t just slow down the movement of the crosshair like traditional friction aim assist, it also pulled the aim towards targets while strafing, even without any direct input from the player.

Bungie Nerfing Contentious Aim Assist Feature in Upcoming Marathon Closed Alpha Patch

Streamer Shroud, like many others, expressed discontent with the Marathon feature, claiming that such systems dilute the PC gaming experience. He suggested that players prefer developing their aiming skills naturally rather than relying on automated aid. Andrew Witts, director of Marathon gameplay, explained that the aim assist was a trial to ensure parity between console and PC users, but after receiving significant community feedback, Bungie has announced that they will disable Mouse Magnetism in the upcoming closed alpha through a patch arriving next week. Initially, players could manually deactivate Mouse Magnetism, but now it will be turned off by default for all players.

In gaming consoles, it’s common (and sometimes essential) for controller aim assist in shooter games to ensure fair competition with keyboard and mouse users. However, introducing similar help on PC is viewed by many as compromising the skill-based nature of that platform. Fortunately, Bungie’s quick action demonstrates they are giving careful consideration to feedback from the closed alpha tests of Marathon.

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2025-04-27 22:48