The major security incident surrounding the Apex Legends game is now behind the developer company that had an experienced hacker remotely controlling the gameplay of other users. The game developers revealed the news of the crisis management and mentioned that the exploit of the “bad actor” was no longer working, but they did not provide much detail on the patch. The whole incident emphasizes that competitive online shooters are still suffering from severe security problems and it has caused a lot of gamers’ concerns.
Okay, that was the uninteresting and obligatory part. But now, let’s go to the chaos because it is absolutely incredible. Imagine the scenario where you are participating in a ranked match, and you are about to perform the final blow with a Kraber shot when all of a sudden, your character simply turns around and starts throwing arc stars at a wall, or perhaps just walks right off the map. This was basically what happened. Respawn, while revealing the incident, termed it as a “security incident”, which is corporate terminology for “an utterly terrible flaw was detected in our code and players’ Legends were controlled.” The so-called bad actor didn’t act like a movie villain, rather the hacker was indulging in his own way while tampering with the matches.
The post published by Dexerto played a part in complicating the situation, and of course, the replies were very emotive. We can clearly hear the sighs of relief from users like @Cpt_Cavey who commented “Glad to hear Apex Legends is back secure! 😀” and this indeed sounds very pleasant. Also, @Ranofty was saying “Absolutely wild, glad it’s all sorted out now.” As you scroll a little further down you will spot that some users are doubting. @enshielada claimed they are “still side-eyeing my next match” accompanied by a sweating emoji and that is indeed something everyone can relate to. The big question still remains how are you going to take the word that it is fixed? The announcement says resolved but… where are the notes? @abu173245 and @nesterrr78 both raised that question very strongly. “Resolved? But no patch notes???” and “Remote control exploit ‘resolved’ but zero patch notes. What did they actually fix, or are we trusting vibes?”
And that is the million-dollar question isn’t it? Are we just operating on vibes now? The vibe going around is currently… shaky. This is not a new problem. @TheAntiHero_J retweeted “Anti-cheat has been a problem since release and has still no resolution to it 🙄”. And @raseithigher just exhaled, “apex still getting rekt by hackers i see…”. It seems like a cycle. One issue pops up, a quick fix is applied, and we carry on until the next one. This time, however, the situation was particularly uncomfortable. @MaaduOfficial pointed out the discrepancy with the greatest precision: “It’s mind-boggling that a ‘bad actor’ was able to control someone else’s character during a match but is the game really safe now or are we just waiting for the next exploit to come up?”
Then again, the peculiar thing is, the philosophers always present their viewpoints. @PromptSin was very technocratic in his approach, speaking of “the degree to which hardware and software must be integrated to ensure competitive integrity.” Fair enough! And @moses_defi highlighted the issue of accountability: “Security incident resolved’ sounds reassuring, but the underlying issue is how little accountability exists in live service games.” Oof. That one stings because it is so close to the truth. We just have to trust them and hop back in again.
Some of the replies are just hilariously dark. @NoBanksNearby was like “Back to dying on my own terms. Good fix.” Repeat. And @ThatNFTGawd was like “didn’t this happen years ago? just getting to it now 🤣”. Well, sometimes, you know, it does feel that way. The thread even had a very bizarre guest appearance by Grok, the AI, who was telling another user that no, security incidents are not good. Thanks, Grok.
But then, the main thing that is hard to shake off is the statement made by Respawn that they only said: “Anti-Cheat is a constant cat-and-mouse game and your reports are imperative.” This is the crux of the matter. It’s a never-ending battle. They patch one hole and another one is opened. The players are the first line of reporters. It is draining. Players like @TheAntiHero_J are having it in one of their comments where he has been debating on whether to return after three years, pondering if he is missing anything. And then @DogeGuy12345678 just says “Apex is dead… play Fortnite.” Ouch! while the fact remains that such emotions are important. For players on PlayStation and Xbox, these security concerns are universal.
