‘Games must protect me!!’— Fans react as Bungie says Marathon will skip the feature at launch to keep things “safe”

Bungie's upcoming game Marathon won't have the proximity chat at launch.

The update comes as developers are reportedly trying to prioritize a “safe environment” for players. Nonetheless, the game will be a PvEvP multiplayer shooter that allows players to rely on AI-controlled NPCs.

Game director Joe Ziegler sat down for an interview with PC Gamer, where he reflected on the main reason they skipped the feature for Marathon, noting that it has the potential to harbor an atmosphere of toxicity.

For the unversed, proximity chat in a game means that depending on where they are in the gaming world, users can hear and communicate with other players of the game through voice channels. While this allows gamers plenty of opportunities to interact with others, it also leaves them without the option of filtering out whose voice they may not want to hear.

Fans have since begun slamming the idea online, though a large number are lauding the developers for taking such a step, noting that such a step now eliminates all chances of poor gameplay. Here's how one critic responded, however:

"games must protect me!!"

The comments didn't end there:

"So they have a Call of Duty like DMZ game but want to remove what is fun about it? Got it," one naysayer penned.

"Now that is a factor thats going to kill the game," someone else opined.

"Prox chat makes extraction shooters 800% more fun. I hope Bungie reconsiders," yet another noted.

"Back to the COD:MW2/3 days, trash talk over PSN DMs," a fourth user jested.

Even more chimed in to ridicule the idea of Marathon being without proximity chat:

"Well this game is going to be a massive failure confirmed," someone claimed.

"The more information that comes out, the less interest I and countless others have," another chimed in.

"Proximity chat is a sacred ritual. It’s how legends are born, enemies are made, and friendships are forged in the heat of digital warzones," yet another echoed.

"Bungie isn’t even Bungie anymore. They’ve forsaken their fundamentals," one user quipped.

Scores online were visibly disappointed to learn of this decision, with only a handful expressing appreciation for it.

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Here's everything we know about Marathon so far:

Speaking with PC Gamer, Marathon director Ziegler said:

“When it comes to [proximity chat], I don’t think we’re against the experience of it, to be fair. I think the challenge is how to make sure we’re creating a safe environment for players inside of that space.”

He went on,

“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.”

Extraction shooters and similar genres tend to rely on proximity chats, allowing users to oftentimes negotiate with each other, among other things. Ziegler continued,

“I think that’s where we stand right now. Like, if it was magical and we could somehow come up with that solution, I think we totally would do it. But right now, it is a challenge that many companies are trying to figure out.”

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At the time of writing, it remains to be seen if the gaming developers of Marathon will factor in player feedback. The game is currently being developed for PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X/S and will hit the shelves on September 23.