Bungie’s Marathon Aim Assist on PC Could Break the Game Before Launch

Bungie’s Marathon is coming to PC, Xbox Series X/S, and PS5 this September, and there is already a big problem. It turns out Marathon has aimbots, or should I say ‘aim-assist’ for PC, in the name of aim magnetism. While at a ground level, it might seem fun for a casual fan, in a PVP extraction, it might get messy later. But why? Why aim assist on mouse and keyboard? Let’s talk about it.

The Aim Assist Battle Between Controller and M&K

Marathon could end a battle, but this war has been brewing for years. Aim assist has been around for decades, mostly helping console players stay competitive in shooter games where analog sticks just can’t match the precision of a mouse. Games like Call of Duty, Halo, and Fortnite have leaned into it for years, especially as crossplay became the norm. It made sense that controller users needed help keeping up in twitchy gunfights. But with every update, patch, and tournament rule, the same fight kept coming back: how much aim assist is too much?

Call of Duty: Warzone’s aim assist drama sparked countless debates, especially when top mouse and keyboard players started calling it “soft aimbot.” Apex Legends had to rework its aim assist values multiple times to calm the storm. And Fortnite? That game almost imploded when controller players started winning PC tournaments. The backlash wasn’t slight either. Pro players were quitting, fans were outraged, and the devs had to walk a tightrope to keep both sides from walking away.

But now, the conversation is shifting, and it’s not about controller players anymore. Bungie’s upcoming extraction shooter, Marathon, is flipping the script by giving mouse and keyboard players aim assist, too. That’s not a typo. In a move to unify crossplay, Bungie is adding magnetism to mouse input, which is raising serious questions.

Aim Assist on PC Will Water Down Our Skills

Aim assist on PC feels like a shortcut in a space where precision and raw aim have always defined skill. As a longtime FPS player, part of the thrill is knowing that every flick, every headshot, is mine, not boosted by invisible magnets. Adding aim assist to mouse and keyboard just blurs that line between talent and tech.

It’s like we’re slowly erasing the reasons we chose PC in the first place. The grind to get better, the muscle memory, the hours in aim trainers, all of that will start to mean less. If this becomes the standard, the competitive edge that made PC gaming special might get lost in the noise. But I’m not alone, a lot of players talked about this during the first day of the Marathon Alpha Test, including Shroud.

After Playing Marathon Alpha Test, Even Shroud Agrees

Marathon’s aim assist on mouse and keyboard might sound ridiculous at first, but if you’ve been playing shooters long enough, you get why it’s happening. As soon as players jumped into the Marathon maps, the impact of this new tech was visible. During a stream, Shroud, one of the most respected FPS voices out there, flat-out called the PC aim assist “aimbot” and didn’t hold back.

He said it felt like the game was helping you a bit too much, especially for a platform where precision and raw aim are the standard. Bungie seems to be leaning hard into crossplay balancing, which means even PC players are now getting magnetism to stay competitive with controllers. As someone who’s played FPS games for over a decade, I get it, we’ve always relied on muscle memory, flicks, and tracking. That’s part of the reason we play on PC. Now? Feels like we’re all getting tossed into the same blender.

But here’s the thing: it’s not just about “feeling” like an aimbot, it’s about what this means going forward. Shroud made it clear that he doesn’t want this kind of artificial help on PC. He wants the skill gap to matter. Whether he is playing Glitch or Locus, his focus is always on being better at the game, not getting unnecessary assists. And if someone like him is raising red flags, we should be listening. Bungie’s decision could mess with the competitive balance that PC shooters thrive on.

Yes, aim assist helps with matchmaking and keeping lobbies full across platforms, but at what cost? We’re treading into territory where true aim doesn’t matter as much as it used to. And if that continues, PC players, the ones who live and die by their aim could start falling off.

What are your thoughts on Marathon PC’s aim assist? Do you think we need aimbot tech to beat controller players? Share your opinions in the comments below.