Hacks and exploits have always been the bane for online multiplayer titles, and Rainbow Six Siege is no exception. For years, Siege players have complained about facing blatant cheaters in the game, and there was a point in time when it seemed like the anticheat, BattlEye, couldn’t cope with the issue. However, now that the game is finally on its redemption arc, fans will be delighted to know that Ubisoft is taking extra precautions to keep hackers from ruining the experience.
The issue of blatant hacking has plagued Siege ever since its release in 2015, and Ubisoft has taken various, albeit arguably ineffective steps to combat it. They finally hit gold with their mid-2023 “QB” update, which makes cheat development almost impossible, and the title even uses a Mousetrap system to penalize players using mouse and keyboard on consoles. However, Ubisoft refused to draw the line at this initial victory and is instead planning to introduce a machine-learning solution to detect cheaters more efficiently.
I asked Joshua Mills, Game Director at Rainbow 6 Siege, about rampant cheaters in video games
“we’re gunna make your life a living hell”R6 is now revamping their anticheat with machine learning pic.twitter.com/RrnKlgUtK9
— Jake Lucky (@JakeSucky) February 25, 2024
Joshua Mills, Rainbow Six Siege’s game director, even addressed the changes to the anti-cheat system in an interview with Jake Lucky at the R6 Invitations in Brazil. Joshua insisted that while it has always been difficult to compete with cheat creators, the “QB” technology helps them do things much faster, making it almost impossible for hackers to push updates in time. Moreover, the game director also revealed that in the months after implementing the “QB” system, they saw several cheat makers go out of business since they could not keep up with Ubisoft’s countermeasures. Likewise, the new machine-learning solution would work alongside the current countermeasures to make cheat creators’ lives a “living hell.”
How Do Data Bans Work in Rainbow Six Siege?
Despite the improvement in cheat detection, it is not plausible to single out and ban every user who is using or has used hacks in the past. There are also instances when some updated cheats go undetected for a short period, allowing hackers to run riot on the servers. Fortunately, this is where Ubisoft’s Data Bans come in as the studio uses an algorithm to study the stats of every single player before flagging the illegitimate ones.
However, a system of this kind is prone to flagging false positives, although Ubisoft claimed they were using additional data points to refine their data models. On top of it, Joshua Mills hopes that the machine-learning solution would further enhance this model by increasing its ability to detect cheaters while keeping legitimate players safe from a false ban. Hence, from the looks of it, Ubisoft has a strong grasp on Rainbow Six Siege’s anti-cheat situation, and players can expect a hacker-free experience in the days to come.
