Once Human devs publicly shame cheaters caught in latest ban wave

Once Human’s developers have named and shamed cheaters for exploiting a bug that allowed access to restricted areas and for using hacks that resulted in a massive ban wave.

The new free-to-play open-world multiplayer survival game has garnered quite the audience since its sneaky launch, racking up a sizable 231,000 peak player count in its first week and stabilizing around the six-figure mark.

However, with such a large player base comes a fair share of individuals looking to use whatever exploits they can to get further ahead.

Early into its release, Starry Studio had already issued a warning to players exploiting a known bug that allowed them to access and occupy Engagement Zones in restricted areas, among other cheats.

Now after a massive ban wave, Once Humans devs are naming and shaming players who have exploited the bug and used unauthorized third-party software. Publishing a length list of player nicknames, IDs, and the reasons for their bans is sure to leave a mark.

“We have recently noticed that some players have been exploiting bugs for unfair advantages,” devs said on Once Human’s website. “Which not only undermines the fairness of the game but also detracts from the overall experience.”

In the announcement, they listed off all the players who exploited the bug, all of them either getting a seven or 30-day ban. Alongside the duration, we were also given their censored in-game name, ID, and the region they were from.

In addition to the exploit bans, Once Human’s devs also gave a very lengthy list of players who were banned for using third-party software, with everyone named being banned for 3,600 days, or nine years and 10 months.

Starry Studio urged players to use the in-game report or to directly report in their Discord channel to keep the game clean from cheaters.

This isn’t the first time game devs have named and shamed cheaters, with Escape From Tarkov putting banned cheaters in the spotlight in March 2023, but they decided to not censor out names, publicly humiliating them.