Destiny 2 joins the growing number of games cracking down on the use of third-party hardware for cheating

As anti-cheat systems evolve, so do cheaters. The latest tricksters technique is to use third-party hardware that allows you to play with a keyboard and mouse on the console but emulates the use of a controller to fool the system and obtain advantages such as aim assist. As the use of these devices spreads, companies, including Activision (Call of Duty) Epic Games (Fortnite) and Ubisoft (Rainbow Six: Siege), take action and one of the latest to do so has been Bungie, developer of Destiny 2.

Bungie points to these “outside help” devices as a source of frustration because they are used for cheating. The company avoids mentioning the manufacturers, but their names are well known to the community: XIM, Cronus or ReaSnow. These companies sell small hardware modules that trick the system into emulating the use of a controller, when in fact the user is using a keyboard and mouse. This allows you to take advantage of the benefits that controller players have, such as aim assist, but with the precision and movement skills that can only be achieved with a keyboard and mouse.

Like other developers, Bungie “accepts the use of third-party accessibility aids that help achieve the experience intentionally designed for the game,” but in case they are “misused specifically to gain advantage over other players” will take action. The actions will range from warning to suspension. In the case of Modern Warfare II or Warzone, when the system detects that the computer or console is using one of these external devices, it issues a warning on the screen. If there is recidivism, sanctions are applied that include the veto.

For its part, Ubisoft has developed a system called Mousetrap that detects keyboard and mouse players on console. The French company affirms that after gathering data and analyzing the results, it has managed to know exactly which players use this type of external device. Ubisoft claims it could kick all of these players, but instead it adds additional latency to the input. At first it will be undetectable, but it will accumulate throughout the games. If the cheater disconnects the device, the latency will return to normal. Mousetrap has been active in Rainbow Six: Siege since Year 8 Season 1 which began in March.