THE FINALS devs speak out on cheating complaints but players don’t think it’s enough

THE FINALS open beta continues to attract players thanks to its flashy graphics and slick gameplay, but a massive problem with cheaters has arisen, and despite Embark Studios speaking out on the issue today, players aren’t convinced they’re doing enough.

The new first-person shooter developers reached out to the FINALS community via the game’s Discord server on Oct. 30 after calls to action regarding rampant cheating during the beta reached breaking point. “We’re actively working on improving the situation—as you know, anti-cheat is a never-ending battle,” the statement read.

Embark also encouraged players to utilize the reporting system and asked for evidence in the form of screenshots and clips—but the community doesn’t feel reassured.

One user said it feels it’s overkill to expect THE FINALS players to go above and beyond to eliminate cheating, calling the method “tedious.” They suggested a feature that automatically takes clips of particular moments where hacking may have occurred, similar to a system used in Dota 2 and Counter-Strike.

Others hit out at Embark’s decision to use Easy Anti-Cheat (EAC), which has proven limited in its effectiveness despite deployment in a variety of big titles like Apex Legends and Fortnite. Some hope EAC is a temporary solution and Embark has something stronger, like a kernel-level anti-cheat similar to VALORANT’s Vanguard, in the pipeline for the game’s full release.

An increase in available servers and region-locking via ping restriction were also floated by the community, with many reporting hackers in their games play from China. It’s not the first time China has been singled out, with anti-cheat service BattlEye finding 99 percent of PUBG hackers were Chinese in 2018.

Ultimately, the issue of hacking is an eternal war between the devs and cheat providers, who continue to adapt as the game evolves. While some solutions are better than others, these tend to also cost a heap more to implement and maintain.

Nevertheless, it’s an issue Embark needs to take seriously as the health and longevity of THE FINALS are at risk if the devs don’t approach the issue aggressively and effectively.

THE FINALS beta is expected to wrap up on Sunday, Nov. 5.