If you thought that PUBG Corp and Bluehole have been lack when it comes to cheating in PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds, then perhaps this will change your mind. Taking a page out of Blizzard’s and Epic Games’ playbook. Bluehole has announced that they have arrested several individuals that have been caught with developing and distributing cheats for the popular online game, PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds.
The company has provided a statement regarding these arrests. But also goes into some details as to what these cheats had to do in order to enable their abilities. And let me be the first to say that the read is pretty scary, as the some of the stuff that is done is crazy. Here’s a snippet of the statement, the rest you can read here.
Hi everyone,
As you all now know, we’ve been doing everything possible to root out cheating from PUBG. The ultimate goal is to create an environment for players that’s completely safe from hackers and cheaters.
We take cheating extremely seriously. Developing, selling, promoting, or using unauthorized hacking/cheating programs isn’t just unfair for others playing PUBG—in many places, it’s also against the law.
We’ve upgraded our security measures, improved our anti-cheat solutions, and recently even added a new anti-cheat solution on top of all that. In the meantime, we’ve also been continuously gathering information on hack developers (and sellers) and have been working extensively with multiple partners and judicial authorities to bring these people to justice.
Earlier this month, on April 25th, 15 suspects were arrested for developing and selling hacking/cheating programs that affect PUBG. It was confirmed that malicious code, including Trojan horse software, was included in some of these programs and was used to steal user information.
Trojan horse software? So basically not only did they provide cheats, but those that were dumb enough to pay and use them also got their info stolen. As for those who are creating those hacks? Yes, I know you’re already thinking it and yes, the majority of those are Chinese-based developers.
“15 major suspects including “OMG”, “FL”, “火狐”, “须弥” and “炎黄” were arrested for developing hack programs, hosting marketplaces for hack programs, and brokering transactions. Currently the suspects have been fined approximately 30mil RNB ($5.1mil USD). Other suspects related to this case are still being investigated.
Yikes! Fined up to 5.1 million USD? Though those companies have likely made more than that, based on how rampant cheating is in the game. I applaud Bluehole for taking this seriously and finally going after those who are making this possible. Hopefully, they can either put enough away or send a message that this sort of stuff won’t be tolerated.
PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds is available on the PC and on the Xbox One as an early access title.
