Rocket League Banwave Cracks Down on Bots
Rocket League has had a bit of a bot problem lately, and this week, Psyonix gave some insights into what it plans to do about that. The developer acknowledged the issue and said it's been a "very active topic" within the Rocket League community, one that Psyonix was monitoring closely but didn't say much about since investigations were underway. Those investigations culminated in a banwave among other changes this week with Psyonix saying that there's more to come, too.
In an update shared on Thursday, Psyonix confirmed that its anti-bot efforts were already in effect. A series of bans transpired on the same day which Psyonix said should affect "the vast majority" of accounts that started using bots towards the end of last year.
"Earlier today, we took action against a number of accounts running bots in Rocket League," the update said. "This banwave should cover the vast majority of accounts that have used bots since they first appeared in online matches towards the end of 2022, and we will continue to monitor for bots and take appropriate action against any players/accounts using them."
On top of that, Psyonix said it's been doing more in terms of anti-cheat systems and the reporting process players use to call out bad actors. There are plans for "additional anti-cheat functionality" in the game, though Psyonix said it's not ready to talk specifics about that just yet.
"While we have been quiet on the subject during this time, we have been actively investigating these bots since they first appeared late last year," Psyonix added. "We strive to be active participants when it comes to community conversations about our game, but we are always going to be more deliberate on issues related to game security and competitive integrity, withholding comments until we are ready to take action."
Psyonix reminded players that botting and things along those lines are covered under the game's zero tolerance policy and encouraged anyone who's seen that sort of thing happen to reach out so that more actions can be taken.