Marathon Server Slam Crossplay Guide: How To Turn It Off And Fix Matchmaking
Crossplay is active by default in the Marathon server slam, and for some players it is wrecking matchmaking. Here is how to turn it off.
Bungie launched the Marathon server slam to test their network infrastructure, but they also inadvertently tested the patience of the entire community. Dropping into Tau Ceti is stressful enough when you are risking your hard earned loot against hostile wildlife and rival runners. Adding forced crossplay into that equation elevates the tension into outright annoyance. The classic divide is fully present here. Console players are tired of getting instantly beamed by the snap precision of mouse and keyboard users. PC players are equally exhausted by dying to controller aim assist in close quarters combat.
It is a tale as old as modern multiplayer gaming, but during this specific server slam, crossplay is causing an entirely different massive problem. Many players report that the cross-network handshake between Steam, Xbox Network, and PlayStation Network is struggling under server slam traffic. The result? Infinite matchmaking queues and ships stuck in orbit. If you actually want to play instead of watching a loading screen, you need to adjust your settings.
The Current State of Network Play
Not all platforms are treated equally in this test build. Bungie has implemented a very specific set of restrictions regarding who can actually opt out of the cross-network pool.
If you are trying to isolate your matchmaking experience, you need to understand exactly what your hardware allows you to do. The options available to you depend entirely on what piece of plastic is sitting under your television or on your desk.
How To Disable Crossplay On Console
If you are playing on a console, you have the power to protect your lobby from the PC crowd. Doing this is incredibly straightforward if you are on PlayStation. You simply open the main menu, navigate to your gameplay settings, find the crossplay toggle, and switch it off.
Xbox players occasionally have to jump through a few extra hoops depending on how the game client interacts with the Microsoft ecosystem. If the in-game toggle is greyed out or completely missing for you on Xbox, you have to block it at the hardware level. Press the Xbox button on your controller, go to Profile and System, then Settings. Navigate to Account, select Privacy and Online Safety, then Xbox Privacy. From there, go to View Details and Customize, select Communication and Multiplayer, and finally block the setting that allows you to join cross-network play.
By flipping this switch, you are strictly limiting your matchmaking pool to players on your exact same console family. You will only fight other people using thumbsticks. It levels the playing field regarding hardware, but it comes with a massive secondary benefit that you absolutely need to take advantage of.
Fixing The Matchmaking Queues
The real reason you should turn off crossplay right now has nothing to do with avoiding mouse and keyboard players. It is purely about server stability.
The server slam is currently suffering from catastrophic matchmaking timeouts. Players are reporting queue times exceeding fifteen minutes with zero success. The routing required to connect a PlayStation user, an Xbox user, and a Steam user into the same extraction instance is incredibly complex. Right now, that infrastructure is actively failing.
When you disable crossplay on your console, you remove that complex handshake entirely. You are telling the game to only look for a native server connection. I have watched countless players complaining about infinite load screens finally get into a match within thirty seconds simply by isolating their network. If you cannot get past the orbit screen, turn the setting off immediately. You are bypassing the broken bridge and taking the local road straight into the match.
The PC Problem: You Are Stuck
Now we have to address the elephant in the room. If you are playing Marathon on Steam, you are entirely out of luck.
As of this current server slam build, there is absolutely no option for PC players to disable crossplay. You are permanently locked into mixed input matchmaking. I understand the frustration here. The PC community generally prefers to play exclusively against other mouse and keyboard users to ensure engagements are decided by raw mechanical aim rather than software assistance. It is incredibly weird that a major competitive shooter would launch a test build without giving PC players the same opt out features provided to the console base.
We can only assume Bungie is forcing the PC crowd to remain in the global pool to ensure there is enough data flowing through the cross-network pipes. They need to stress test the system, and PC players are essentially acting as the required heavy load. It is a raw deal, especially considering the current matchmaking errors, but it is the reality of playing a pre-release build. We can only hope Bungie updates the UI and unlocks the toggle for the PC community before the official launch.
Until then, console players should absolutely utilize the toggle to fix their server issues and secure their loot. PC players will just have to endure the chaos and hope their connection holds together long enough to reach extraction.
