Tencent Explains Cheat Ban Process in PUBG Mobile
By Nathan Fusco
Tencent has been banning thousands of players in PUBG Mobile, but understand it's a never-ending battle. Tencent posted a blog post about the problem and explained their process behind bans and how they plan to combat cheaters in the future.
The post even has a "myth" section where Tencent discusses common false pretenses players hold about cheating and banning in general.
Are you ready for Payload Mode? PUBG MOBILE's newest addition, a battle for land, air, and sea, is about to arrive! Bring out the big guns, you'll need them in Payload Mode! pic.twitter.com/YLk7RJmWw2
— PUBG MOBILE (@PUBGMOBILE) October 22, 2019
It seems plenty of people in the community believe Tencent benefit from cheaters or treat certain cheaters differently than others, those rumors were quickly shut down:
"Myth: Hackers who spend money don’t get banned."
"Truth: Money spent in PUBG MOBILE has no impact on punishment for cheating. There is a zero tolerance policy for cheating regardless of how much you spend. We have banned some of the highest spenders in PUBG MOBILE who have been caught cheating. Everyone is equal in this regard."
"Myth: Tencent makes money off cheats."
"Truth: We hate cheaters as much if not more than you do and would never do anything to help cheaters. We take enormous pride in the game we work on every day, and cheaters cheapen all of our work. We’re doing everything possible to keep cheaters out of our game as much as possible, and hundreds of team members are dedicated to this task."
Tencent can't catch every cheater or stop cheating for good, but the company has multiple steps to make the process more reliable. As they create better programs and systems to combat hackers, the cheaters will eventually adapt and make new software, that's where the second line of defense comes into play. Tencent is building a program that doesn't try to find a corrupt file or program, it instead examines game play and determines if certain things are impossible. Like landing at Pochinki and looting the Military Base 30 seconds later. That person is cheating.
The second line of defense isn't perfect, but is a great step in finding cheaters even if they cover their tracks. You can't hide the fact you landed a 450m headshot while looking the opposite direction.
Photo courtesy of Tencent