Marathon is bringing aim assist for mouse and keyboard players, and it might be bad news for crossplay

Marathon will feature aim assist for the mouse and keyboard. Yes, you read that right. Bungie's upcoming first-person shooter is yet to be released, but that hasn't stopped it from surrounding itself in a cloud of controversy. The game is currently in its alpha stage, and a few select players have gotten the opportunity to participate in the playtesting. Since there were no NDAs, these players have revealed a feature that could potentially break the game.

For those wondering, that game-breaking feature is aim assist for mouse and keyboard. Called Aim Magnetism, this feature allows a player to receive the benefits of controller aim assist on their mouse and keyboard. The feature is so controversial that popular streamer Shroud has called it an "aimbot".

Read on to learn more about the feature and how it could break crossplay for the upcoming shooter.

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How Aim Magnetism in Marathon could ruin crossplay for controller players

The Aim Magnestim or aim assist in Marathon is a feature for all the mouse and keyboard players. While FPS games tend to limit this ability to controllers only, the upcoming title is allowing all players to take advantage of it. This might not seem like much on the surface, but it can have serious implications that could ruin the game's competitive integrity.

First, let's briefly discuss why games need aim assist. Well, simply put, mouse and keyboard players benefit from the ability to aim accurately. But it is not a luxury that controller players have. They are quite limited when it comes to aiming in shooters. Hence, to ensure that controller users have precise aiming abilities, almost all FPS or even third-person games have some form of aim assist. It is a feature that is not required for mouse and keyboard players.

So, how does it affect crossplay? Well, this might be a controversial take, but a controller simply isn't on par with a mouse and keyboard when it comes to any FPS game, which is exactly why they have aim assist.

However, with aim assist available on your mouse and keyboard in Marathon, the level playing field no longer exists. Controllers were given a feature to bring them on par with the mouse, but now, with the mouse made more powerful, the initial purpose seems to have been lost.

The most likely result would be the skill gap getting reduced among players who are already around the same skill level, as it does not incentivize them to get better.

Some might argue that it's creating a level playing field, but that, unfortunately, isn't the case. Even with minimal effort in the shooter, players can get the benefits of an "aimbot" as described by Shroud. Fortunately for mouse players, this "minimal effort" doesn't come from more practice but from having a better aiming device.

Simply put, the inclusion of aim assist for KBM diminishes the skill gap between players around the same skill levels and, at the same time, it amplifies the gap between those who are on completely different skill tiers.

If anything, this is widening the gap between controller players and those using a mouse and keyboard. That said, the game is still in its alpha stage. Based on feedback from the testers, the KBM aim assist will likely be removed or limited to some new playlists/modes, as many have already condemned the feature. However, this is just our speculation for the time being.

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