The makers of Escape from Tarkov have announced it has banned over 11,000 players who have been found to be cheating over the last fortnight.
Battlestate Games said in an X post that it made the move with the support of anti-cheat service provider BattlEye, which is related to anti-cheat measures in games such as Rainbow 6 Siege and PUBG.
Escape from Tarkov is one of the most popular games in the extraction shooter genre. Gamers are cast as scavengers in the lawless city of Tarkov and compete with both NPC enemies and other players to escape zones via collecting as much loot as possible. Its focus on realism and high-stakes gameplay means it is an attractive proposition for cheaters and hackers.
But according to the game’s official X page, the developers are doing everything they can to keep Escape from Tarkov a clean and fair playing field for everyone by banning 11,000 players between December 27 and January 12.
From December 27 to January 12 with the support of BattlEye anti-cheat more than 11000 cheaters have been banned in Escape from Tarkov.https://t.co/2v6UQvKypI#EscapefromTarkov
— Escape from Tarkov (@tarkov) January 12, 2024
The spreadsheet provided in the post is a full list of the users who have received bans, although some critics believe the vagueness of details in the banning of said players points to merely attempting to keep angry players happy instead of making a genuine attempt to make the game more secure.
Does Escape from Tarkov have a cheating problem?
The fact 11,000 players have been banned suggests it’s an ongoing problem for Battlestate Games but whether there is work being done behind the scenes to help nullify the issue remains to be seen.
In February last year, GameRant reported that an investigation into cheaters found that 60% of matches featured cheaters. A month later, it was announced 4,000 cheaters had been banned. The fact another 11,000 have been banned less than a year later points to it being a long-term issue for the developers and perhaps even the gaming industry in general.
And as critics are quite fairly pointing out, the omittance of specifics in the spreadsheet, such as the cheats being detected, doesn’t necessarily mean bans lead to a long-term fix.
Battlestate’s 2024 plans for Escape from Tarkov may now heavily rely on their ongoing attempts to reduce cheating.
Featured Image: Escape from Tarkov
