The Finals devs “nearing a solution” to bug that allowed cheaters to evade bans

❘ Published: 2023-12-20T02:41:00

Embark Studios

The Finals might be about to get a lot more competitive after devs zero in on an issue that could be affecting skill disparity. A problem with their anti-cheat software may have let cheaters flourish.

The Finals burst into the FPS space with a surprising bang eclipsing the player count of genre staples like CoD. Since its surprise release following The Game Awards 2023, the game has steadily built its audience.

Being the first major game from Embark Studios, The Finals has had its share of hurdles during its early launch. Players have been vocal about the game’s skill-based matchmaking (SBMM) and its perceived impact on enjoyment.

It might not be the SBMM that’s been causing The Finals to feel so imbalanced though. According to Community Lead Dusty Gustaffson, The Finals has been suffering from a technical issue that has prevented its team from properly moderating cheaters.

Your countless losses weren’t a skill issue after all.

Initially reported by Eurogamer, Gustaffson reached out to the game’s community via Discord to announce some new strides with the bug. This followed a spike in reports of cheating on The Finals’ Subreddit.

The Finals uses Easy Anti-Cheat as its default moderation software but according to Gustaffson “it isn’t our only anti-cheat measure”. Gustaffson revealed that some facet of their other anti-cheat system had suffered “a technical issue that prevented us from banning cheaters efficiently”.

Fortunately, it looks like the devs at Embark Studios are on the right track for a fix. “We’re now nearing a solution to this bug, and we’ve already begun re-upping our anti-cheat measures again,” Gustaffson explained.

“I hope your experience is about to get better,” they assured players. “Please give us time to fix things. We’re new and fine-tuning. I have faith in the team.”

We’ll have to see how a fix for this technical error impacts the feel of The Finals.

Hopefully, The Finals will be able to work its way through these teething issues and players can focus on the game’s positives. Its ingenious destruction mechanics already have players making “nuclear bombs” out of improvised explosives and we’re sure more is possible.

If you’re trying to get a leg up on the cheaters while they’re still around, check out our guides for The Finals to up your game.