The Finals developer Embark Studios has apparently been struggling to ban cheaters due to a technical hitch, but with a solution to this annoying "bug" now in sight, it sounds like cheaters' days may be numbered.
In a statement posted to The Finals Discord server today, December 18, community lead Dusty Gustafsson writes: "Over the past few days, we've had a technical issue that prevented us from banning cheaters efficiently. We're now nearing a solution to this bug, and we're already begun re-upping our anti-cheat measures again.
"Thanks for your patience as we continue to sort through issues. Keeping the game a smooth, safe, and fair space for players is our biggest priority. We're in this for the long haul." The nature of this bug hasn't been shared, perhaps to avoid giving cheaters any shred of knowledge or advantage, but – and this is easy for me to say, not being the one putting out these fires – it is oddly amusing to think that cheaters benefited from a bug in this way.
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This statement has come on the heels of a noticeable spike in reports of cheaters, with many alleged cheaters believed to be from China based on their usernames. The Finals' EAC (Easy Anti-Cheat) system has been in the crossfire at various points, but in a separate response to disgruntled players, Gustafsson explained that it isn't the only safeguard.
"EAC isn't our only anti-cheat measure. We have a lot of things going at once. But we have been dealing with an issue that's caused a ton of headaches. I hope your experience is about to get better. Please give us time to fix things. We're new and fine-tuning. I have faith in the team."
The Finals is also fighting on the matchmaking front. Less than a week after launch, the FPS adjusted its skill-based matchmaking to promote "better quality games," predictably igniting debate over fun and fairness in multiplayer.
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