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As PUBG Mobile continues to grow in popularity, so too do the communities targeting the game for profit. Hacking and cheating is nothing new to the world of competitive online gaming, but things took a dramatic turn earlier this year when a massive cheats developer worth more than $40 million was shut down in China.
As one of the main targets of the cheating ring, PUBG Mobile and Tencent took an active role in getting the hackers shut down. We had the chance to connect with Rick Li, producer of PUBG Mobile, to learn a bit more about how the team managed to overcome a cheating ring of this size and how it'll prevent issues like this from happening in the future.
TheGamer: What role did PUBG Mobile play in breaking up one of the largest video game cheat operations in the world?
Rick Li: The breakup of one of the world's largest video game cheating operations was made through collaboration between Tencent and the Chinese police. Tencent first reported these specific cheating software sales websites over a year before the final arrests, in March 2020. These websites included a number of cheats and exploits for games including PeaceKeeper Elite and PUBG Mobile. Throughout the next year, Tencent worked collaboratively with the local police in order to provide assistance that would help progress the investigation.
The result was 10 individuals arrested in March 2021, along with the destruction of 17 cheats and the seizure of more than $46 million in assets. Most importantly, millions of player games are now cheat-free thanks to the closure of these exploits. PUBG Mobile is committed to creating a fair play game environment for all the players, and has zero tolerance for cheating production and sales, and will cooperate with law enforcement departments of different countries to continuously combat cheating groups.
TG: PUBG Mobile has seen hundreds of anti-cheating updates over the past few years – how are you able to keep up with hackers and exploits that are constantly changing?
RL: A fair play environment is what our players love and what PUBG Mobile is committed to. Unfortunately, as one of the most popular games in the world, we have our work cut out for us when it comes to combating cheaters.
Since the launch of PUBG Mobile, the work of fighting against cheating groups has never stopped. PUBG Mobile has a dedicated security team for anti-cheating, with hundreds of team members continuously scanning and monitoring all cheating software 24 hours a day, every day, without interruption. Since its launch in 2018, PUBG Mobile has detected over 1000 different types of cheating software. Every month over 100 samples of cheating software are detected, and an average of 3.7 different cheating softwares are banned every day.
PUBG Mobile has also introduced the groundbreaking Security Zone, which crowdsources investigations through the 700,000 strong investigators who are common players in the game. In this system, players can volunteer to review footage of gameplay that has been reported by players as suspicious. The in-game footage will be reviewed by multiple anonymous investigators, and if the majority flag the player as cheating, the official PUBG Mobile team will conduct a final review and follow up with the appropriate response. Nearly 80,000 suspected cheating videos are reviewed each month. Over 100,000 players have been banned through the Security Zone since its launch in September of 2020.
However, as the experience of the Security Team grows, so does that of the cheaters. Top cheating groups continuously upgrade their cheating software. In response, the Security Team of PUBG Mobile continually upgraded its anti-cheating technology. Every time a new cheat or exploit appears, the Security Team will immediately investigate through a number of different measures, including scanning of in-game suspicious behaviors, investigator reviewing and analysis of suspected cheating videos. The Security Team will also covertly purchase cheating software through various channels, gaining more information about both the cheats and the groups that develop and sell them.
The Security Team then begins technical analysis and its swift response, banning players using these exploits and closing the system exploits the cheat is using.
Keeping Hackers Out Of The New Season
PUBG Mobile recently launched a new season with update 1.5 – introducing in-game Tesla vehicles to the mix – and it's bound to see an influx of new and returning players. An increase in players means an increased possibility for hackers, and it'll be interesting to see how the dev team handles the added pressure. With nearly 80,000 suspected cheaters reviewed every month, keeping the game fair and balanced seems like an uphill battle.
However, Tencent and the PUBG Mobile team have made it clear that doing just that is one of their highest priorities. If you're curious to see how the game is handling the problem, you can always jump into a match and find out for yourself. Unlike its PC and console counterpart, PUBG Mobile is entirely free. And with a new season now available, it's a great time to see why it's so popular – and to determine firsthand whether enough is being done to combat cheaters.