PUBG anti-cheat cut cheating via free-to-play account abuse, hardware bans, and Zakynthos, slashing speed hacks 99.97% and suspected cheaters 45%.
I still remember the buzz on January 12, 2022. PUBG: BATTLEGROUNDS was going free-to-play, and while my squad was thrilled about the influx of new players, a nagging question gnawed at me: Would cheating explode now that anyone could create an infinite number of accounts? It felt like a make-or-break moment for the game I loved. Fast forward to 2026, and I've witnessed a four-year war between the anti-cheat team and the cheaters. Let me share what I've learned.
Back in late 2021, the developers published a dev letter that laid out their battle plan. They didn't sugarcoat it: anti-cheat is a never-ending fight. But they had spent the year quietly building countermeasures across four fronts: improving their proprietary solution Zakynthos, enhancing hardware bans, patching client vulnerabilities, and reinforcing in-game abuse detection. Zakynthos alone helped remove an extra 28% of cheaters compared to the previous year. That was just the opening salvo.
So, what did they promise for 2022? A lot, and I've seen most of it come to life:
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🤖 Automatic analysis of cheat software using machine learning
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🕵️ 24-hour monitoring of upper-rank Ranked matches
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🔒 Kernel driver implementation
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🛡️ Client tamper prevention
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🚫 Improved hardware ban systems
Let's talk about hardware bans first. I remember reading about how cheaters were bypassing bans by tweaking their hardware IDs. The new algorithm, integrated into Zakynthos, resulted in a near 30% drop in reports of encountering cheaters. And crucially, banned players couldn't just spoof their hardware to jump back in. That felt like a real win.
But the most jaw-dropping stat? The team targeted speed hacks and flying cars by cross-checking movement on the server—but only for suspicious accounts, to avoid lag for the rest of us. The result: a 99.97% reduction in players using those cheats. I had to read that twice. 99.97%! Can you imagine how many flying UAZs that prevented? Similarly, aimbot defenses were reinforced through weapon-firing validations and client tamper protection. The dev letter admitted that cheaters were getting smarter, but the team was staying one step ahead.
Of course, cheating isn't just about hacks. In high-tier Ranked, some players were teaming with cheaters to farm RP, or farming Survival Mastery XP abnormally to sell accounts. Machine learning helped cut those cases by roughly 30% and 50%, respectively. It felt like the Wild West was slowly being tamed.
By the end of 2021, the ratio of suspected cheater accounts had dropped by about 45% compared to early 2021. Permanent bans were down 47% year-over-year—not because the team was slacking, but because fewer people were cheating. The graphs told a story of steady improvement.
What really convinced me was the free play week data. In June 2020, during a free week, suspected cheater ratios skyrocketed, especially in Normal Matches. But during the August 2021 free week, the spike was shorter and the numbers settled back to pre-event levels. That gave me confidence for the free-to-play transition.
And for those of us in high ranks, the report rate data showed a gradual decline through 2021—not perfect, but promising.
Now, in 2026, I can look back and see how those seeds grew. The kernel driver and machine learning systems are now standard, and the team continues to fight new threats like AI-driven aimbots and account hacking. They've also cracked down on SMS authentication bypasses and in-game cheat promotion spam. Is cheating completely gone? No, and it never will be—but the game feels far fairer than it did in early 2022. The anti-cheat team's dedication, and their willingness to share both wins and challenges, has kept me coming back to the Battlegrounds. If you're a fellow survivor, you know the feeling: every clean kill feels earned, and that's worth fighting for.