As Apex Legends‘ player base continues to grow, so too, do the number of players looking to game the system for an unfair advantage. Respawn Entertainment has made every effort to be transparent with fans when it comes to the topic of cheaters and it’s not about to break tradition, it seems.
As part of yesterday’s update to the game – which, in case you hadn’t heard, introduced the much-anticipated Battle Pass and season format – the developer provided a series of new figures on how many unsavoury types its anti-cheating software has caught in the act, a figure that now stands at an eye-watering 499,937. That number was accurate as of yesterday’s update, so it’s probably safe to assume that it’s now way beyond the halfway mark to a million.
To provide some additional perspective on the current total, it was reported less than two weeks ago that Respawn had banned in the realm of 355,000 players, meaning more than 100,000 have jumped on the cheating bandwagon before even a fortnight has passed. Such a rapid rise clearly indicates that Respawn has a mountain to climb ahead of it in an effort to stamp out illicit activity full stop, with certain measures already present in-game. With the arrival of Wild Frontier, PC players are now able to use a report feature to flag those behaving suspiciously, either via the spectate screen after death or through the squads’ tab.
In regards to speed-hacking specifically, Respawn says it already has anti-cheat software in place to catch offenders, though believes it has identified a bug preventing it from working properly. Assuming all goes well, the issue will be addressed with the next server update which it’s working to get out as soon as possible.
I’m sure I speak for every genuine Apex Legends fan in hoping for the best for the game’s continued integrity, but this certainly won’t be an easy battle for Respawn to win. Not only will it need to deter players from seeking third-party programs to get the upper hand, but also take the fight to those responsible for the software in the first place.
Judging by certain accounts provided by said parties, the business is a lucrative one that’s unlikely to be abandoned any time soon.