"Successful disruption of the cheater community" — Battlefield 6 says its kernel-level anticheat EA Javelin has been a huge success, so dealing with Secure Boot was worth it

News
By published

EA reports that 2.39 million Battlefield 6 cheat attempts have been blocked since launch.

Official screenshot of Battlefield 6.
Battlefield 6's Javelin has proven to be very effective so far — and no, I don't mean the anti-tank rocket launcher. (Image credit: Electronic Arts)
Disclaimer

Enjoy our content? Make sure to set Windows Central as a preferred source in Google Search, and find out why you should so that you can stay up-to-date on the latest news, reviews, features, and more.

Ever since the dawn of online multiplayer gaming, cheating has been a constant issue that game developers have had to combat with anticheat programs that prevent or detect hacking attempts, and then ban the account responsible shortly thereafter. Many turn to third-party solutions like Easy Anti-Cheat or BattlEye for this, though some studios opt for first-party software developed in-house.

The true efficacy of kernel-level programs has been in question ever since they became as fairly widespread as they are now, with many arguing that such deep access to your operating system isn't necessary for an anticheat to do its job. For its hit new FPS Battlefield 6, though, EA and Battlefield Studios say that Javelin has been hugely successful.

That news comes in a new report from the Battlefield developer in which it was announced that since the game's October 10 launch, 2.39 million cheat attempts have been blocked by Javelin, with 190 different cheat sellers/programs detected and 183 (96.3%) of them reporting failures or announcing takedowns as a result.

Battlefield Studios also announced that in the shooter's opening week, it had a Match Infection Rate (MIR) — a measure of the percentage of games with a cheater in them — of just 2%, meaning 98% of Battlefield 6 games in that time were hacker-free. A graph further shows that in the month after launch, that number has only slightly grown to an average of about 2.3-2.5%.

Image 1 of 2
Match Infection Rate (MIR) statistics for cheating in Battlefield 6.
(Image credit: Electronic Arts)

The Match Infection Rate (MIR) of games played during Battlefield 6's Open Beta.

A big reason for this "successful disruption of the cheater community" was the ability to test and improve Javelin during Battlefield 6's Open Beta weekends in August, during which over 1.2 million cheating attempts were thwarted, and the number of cheater-free matches rose from 93.1% to 98% by the time the beta was concluding.

The widespread use of Secure Boot — a security feature enabled in your motherboard BIOS that combats malware and other untrustworthy software — was also a factor, with adoption of the required setting rising from 62.5% to 92.5% by the beta's end.

Enabling Secure Boot is kind of a pain, and in some other FPS titles like recent Call of Duty games, it, as well as kernel-level anticheat, has struggled to effectively counter cheaters. Javelin appears to be taking advantage of the feature to great effect, however, so digging into your BIOS to turn it on is worth the hassle in the end.

Of course, the fight against cheaters is never-ending, so Battlefield Studios intends to keep winning it by continuously improving Javelin's systems while also making it easier to report players.

It also plans to address the use of third-party "cheating hardware" peripherals like the Cronus Zen that convert mouse and keyboard inputs into controller ones, giving M&K users access to gamepad aim assist. The developers acknowledge that some use these for accessibility, and recommend official solutions like the Xbox Adaptive Controller and PlayStation Access Controller.

Cheaters using sniper rifles to dominate entire servers is a big problem in many FPS games, but so far, Battlefield 6's anticheat defenses have held strong. (Image credit: Electronic Arts)

Ultimately, it's great to see that cheating has been kept an extremely minor issue in Battlefield 6 thus far; speaking anecdotally, I've put over 120 hours into multiplayer at this point and haven't come across a single offender. It remains to be seen if that remains the case in the long term, but hopefully EA and Battlefield Studios remain this vigilant.

Battlefield 6 is in the middle of a free trial week right now, and is available permanently for $69.99 across Xbox Series X|S, Windows PC, and PS5. Notably, the Xbox version is selling for just $60.69 at Loaded, as is the EA App edition on PC, thanks to Black Friday.

Battlefield 6
Save 13%
Battlefield 6: was $69.99 now $60.69 at loaded.com


The latest entry in the legendary Battlefield series is fantastic, and has brought the franchise back into a positive spotlight after the disappointment of Battlefield 2042. The game is available now across all its platforms, with Loaded (formerly CDKeys) offering some noteworthy discounts.

Also for: PC | PS5
Phantom Edition: $80.49 at Loaded (Xbox)

View Deal

Click to follow Windows Central on Google News

Follow Windows Central on Google News to keep our latest news, insights, and features at the top of your feeds!

Brendan Lowry
Brendan Lowry
Contributor, Gaming

Brendan Lowry is a Windows Central writer and Oakland University graduate with a burning passion for video games, of which he's been an avid fan since childhood. He's been writing for Team WC since the summer of 2017, and you'll find him doing news, editorials, reviews, and general coverage on everything gaming, Xbox, and Windows PC. His favorite game of all time is probably NieR: Automata, though Elden Ring, Fallout: New Vegas, and Team Fortress 2 are in the running, too. When he's not writing or gaming, there's a good chance he's either watching an interesting new movie or TV show or actually going outside for once. Follow him on X (Twitter).

You must confirm your public display name before commenting

Please logout and then login again, you will then be prompted to enter your display name.