Guilty Gear Strive is "unplayable" following a new security exploit

Guilty Gear Strive streamers say the fighting game is "unplayable" due to an unpatched security exploit.

As reported by Vice, Guilty Gear Strive streamers allege that an exploit, which first popped up around the holidays, sees them "getting hit" with hackers who target streamers by making changes to the game's code - such as the names of other players mid-match - causing it to crash.

Here's an excellent video that explains precisely how the hackers are getting control of streamers' systems:

Other issues from the "R-Code" exploit include taking control of direct messages and creating memory leaks that make the game "unplayable". Whilst streamers initially thought they could bypass the issue by hiding their R-Codes whilst streaming, the game's follow feature means hackers can still get the information they need to target online streamers - which is a big problem indeed, given qualifying rounds for this year's competitive Strive tournament are about to get underway and players are struggling to practice.

"Whoever is using this r-code exploit can now use this vulnerability to cause the GGST client to have some sort of leak, slowing the game to an unplayable crawl," explained @hotashis. "This occurs even in training mode, and doesn't happen with steam in offline mode."

"I'm going to be laying off of Strive until the R-Code exploit gets fixed," added @RemiCeleste. "I would like some more communication from @ArcSystemWorksU about this as more and more streamers are getting hit (JP streamers included now)."

Developer Arc System Works has yet to publicly acknowledge the issue, let alone issue a patch or solution, although producer Zack Shini recently tweeted a brief message to say they were "looking through all the reports".

Just as the game surpasses one million copies sold, Guilty Gear Strive launched a brand new trans fighter.

As Hirun reported at the time, Bridget's reveal is being celebrated by Guilty Gear Strive's community far and wide. Players are rejoicing for a brand new trans character to play after Arc System Works added the non-binary Testament earlier this year. One player claims they recently met game director Daisuke Ishiwatari, who sketched Bridget for them and added a wonderful "trans rights" caption.

Here are all the new games of 2023 (and beyond).