‘PUBG Mobile’ cheats: Tencent ramps up efforts against cheaters via Spectating System update

Cheating has been one of the major, if not the biggest, issues that affect the “PUBG Mobile” experience. As cheating methods improve, Tencent Games is also ramping up its efforts to neutralize cheaters by upgrading the spectating system.

‘PUBG Mobile’ devs update spectating feature to address the widespread cheating problem

Shooter games, especially those played online, are often a cesspool for cheaters who want to level up without putting in the work. Over time, unfortunately, cheaters have also become more creative and sometimes even exploit gameplay features in “PUBG Mobile” in their favor. Such has been the case with the game’s spectating system and x-ray vision, two features that were supposed to make the battle royale title a more enjoyable experience but are being used by some players for exploitative reasons.

Tencent is aware that these features are being utilized in one of the more recent methods cheaters widely use in “PUBG Mobile.” What they often do, with the help of an x-ray vision plugin, is to use another device to join the match as a spectator (who’s already out of the game). They then advise another gamer (hosting the spectating), who is still active in the match, on the whereabouts of their opponents.

To remedy this problem, “PUBG Mobile” developers intend to update the spectating system. Tencent said the game server should be able to determine if active players hosting the spectating have a vision on their opponents. In this case, the server will transmit location data to the spectators. Otherwise, the server will keep other players’ location data masked from spectators to prevent them from acting as a second set of eyes.

Will ‘PUBG Mobile’ get better after this?

It is not hard to understand how severe is “PUBG Mobile’s” cheaters issue. In every post on the game’s Twitter page, no matter the subject of the post is, there will be players complaining about bad experiences with cheating accounts.

While Tencent’s newest solution sounds ingenious, the developer also knows it will not solve the cheating issues entirely. “As the direct and indirect use of x-ray vision to cheat may continue to evolve in the future, we will continue to enhance the security of the game in all aspects and improve our ability to detect new forms of cheating,” Tencent added before reiterating that cheaters’ accounts will be banned for 10 years.