Embark Studios chose to close out 2023 with a bang, launching the first-ever major ban wave for its hit free-to-play shooter, The Finals. The move was aimed at tackling the growing issue of cheaters infesting the game. Unfortunately, the massive ban wave seems to have unintentionally ensnared numerous innocent players who have no history of cheating.
The Finals has quickly risen to prominence as one of the fastest-growing multiplayer games in recent months. Following a wildly successful beta phase, the game rapidly amassed a staggering 10 million player base within just two weeks of its surprise release by Embark Studios. However, the fast-paced FPS game has grappled with a persistent problem: a staggering number of cheaters determined to spoil the experience for others. We previously highlighted this issue (check our coverage here), shedding light on the developers’ struggle to address the cheating problem even three weeks post-release.
Embark Studios obviously took notice and, in a bid to combat the growing cheater pandemic, initiated an overnight ban wave on the final day of 2023. However, the celebration was short-lived as numerous complaints flooded Twitter and Reddit, revealing that many regular, legitimate players found themselves kicked offline and unable to log back in. This unfortunate scenario included content creators, streamers, and average players—all seemingly victims of what appears to be an inadequately tuned auto-ban algorithm.
Tom Warren, Senior Editor for The Verge, first broke the news on X (Twitter), and the wave of complaints from falsely banned players followed soon after. Fortunately, the developers were swift to respond and initiate damage control. Reports indicate that some of the false bans have already been reversed. While it remains unclear if the full ban wave has been entirely reversed, the developers’ proactive steps to cleanse their game of cheaters are at least a promising sign!
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