“Hundreds” of Destiny players have been banned from the online sci-fi shooter’s versus multiplayer mode, the Crucible, for “manipulating network traffic” by developers Bungie.

It’s unsurprising that Bungie is reluctant to let cheating creep into it’s games. It did after all, produce the hit Halo series, which ended up becoming a big deal in the eSports scene where cheating is a huge taboo. In Bungie’s weekly update blog for Destiny, the studio explained that it isn’t looking to stop cracking down on cheaters anytime soon. “We’re watching and monitoring.” they stated ominously, adding that “Cheating will not be tolerated, Guardians.”

Bans for network manipulation are being issued in the Crucible. More details tomorrow in the Weekly Update.

— Bungie (@Bungie) July 30, 2024

Bungie doesn’t want to shed more light on exactly why players were banned though, stating “The damned shall remain anonymous – their nefarious actions a mystery.”. For those of you who aren’t really sure what “manipulating network traffic” means exactly, don’t worry - you’re in Bungie’s good graces. “If you don’t know what that means, we love you. Never change.”

Bungie says that it encourages players to use the in-game tools to report any suspicious activity they may see. “The Destiny Community is a part of this process. Your finest weapons in the fight against cheaters are the reporting tools built right into the game,” they stated.

Bungie also encouraged players to stop making personal videos of players cheating, as it doesn’t help to eradicate them from the game. “Shaming your offenders in a video might feel good, but it doesn’t factor into our process for passing down a guilty verdict – and it might get you in trouble with the moderators of your favorite Guardian clubhouse!”

Refreshingly, aside from banning cheaters due to it obviously being the right thing to do, Bungie seems to have acknowledged the annoyance cheaters have caused. “We know you want justice. We’ve seen the chatter. We’ve read the reports,” Bungie wrote - something that will please our own Kyle Barrows, who reviewed Destiny for Continue Play.

Kyle wasn’t overly enthused by Destiny, finding that a combination of lackluster storytelling, a limited amount of content and repetitive gameplay held the game back from reaching its potential. “Bungie built an amazing and unique universe for us to explore, but filled it with the most uninspired and standard content possible,” Kyle wrote in his Destiny review.