ARC Raiders uses a controversial feature to group like-minded players in the same lobby. Marathon is not supposed to do this, says the Game Director.
What is this feature? Virgil Watkins, the lead designer of ARC Raiders, confirmed in January 2026 what many fans had already suspected: the matchmaking for rounds also takes into account whether players frequently attack from behind.
ARC Raiders recognizes who shoots first in a confrontation and tends to group players who often shoot others in the back (referred to by some as “rats”, which is a very negatively connoted term) more frequently with other “rats” in a lobby.
This form of “aggression-based matchmaking,” as the players call it, is controversial in ARC Raiders. Some players actively exploit the system to land in friendly lobbies. Once there, they mow everything down, especially other players (as reported by GameRant).
No “aggression-based matchmaking” in Marathon
Could Marathon implement a similar system? According to Joe Ziegler, Game Director of Marathon, this type of matchmaking will not exist in the game. “We don’t have special matchmaking rules to separate ‘non-combat-oriented players’,” Marathon Bulletin quotes the head developer.
The quote comes from a press event for Marathon and was reported by the Chinese news outlet Ali213. Marathon Bulletin is an unofficial channel for Marathon on X.com, dedicated to news and updates about the extraction shooter.
You can see the post here:
The question of whether another player is hostile or not, according to Ziegler, is at the core of the survival experience. He further explains: “It’s that uncertainty that drives how unpredictable each run can be.”
There will still be a proximity chat in the game, so you can talk to other players nearby. It remains up to you whether you play cooperatively or attack every player directly, but that alone will not influence your lobbies.
Marathon is indeed the latest game from the developer studio Bungie, but the system requirements for the game are still quite generous. You can also save quite a bit on RAM – good for those who couldn’t afford to stock up on it anymore. You can read more about this in this article: Marathon shows system requirements: You can even play the shooter if you can’t afford a new PC due to the RAM crisis
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