Palworld is already struggling to stop cheaters
Pocket Pair's Palworld has left Lickitungs wagging, as this suspiciously Pokemon-esque game continues to break records, dodge legal threats, and generally stick its middle finger to Nintendo's golden goose of gaming series.
Having trounced the first week sales of Pokemon Legends: Arceus and saying it's not afraid of being sued by those Mario overlords, Palworld is walking a tightrope of controversy alongside allegations of AI and general theft. If all of that wasn't enough, it now seems Palworld has a problem with cheaters.
Pocket Pair apologises for Palworld cheating
Despite its lengthy tenure in the industry, Pokemon hasn't faced much of a problem with cheating. Well, not in a meaningful way. We all tried the MissingNo. trick, but with there being a lack of a competitive edge and Scarlet & Violet being the first to explore co-op, PvP has also never been an issue.
However, as Palworld tries to 1-up the Pokeverse with an impressive roadmap and PvP experience, the developer has admitted it already has a problem with cheaters. Pokemon games have been shackled to Nintendo devices, but with Palworld arriving on Xbox and PC, the latter has become a cheater's paradise.
Pocket Pair has highlighted the problem in its latest patch update on Steam, promising that it has deployed "countermeasures against various cheats and exploits." The bit that has us worried is the mention that "it is currently difficult to completely prevent all cheating immediately."
The statement continues, "We will continue to focus even more on security and aim to create an environment where everyone can play with peace of mind. We sincerely apologize to all players who have been affected by this incident. Thank you for your continued support of Palworld."
Palworld has a cheating problem
Click to enlargeSpeaking to IGN, Xyrem from the Anti-Cheat Police Department video game cheat prevention organisation said Palworld cheats "have been kind of exploding as there are a lot of people who are interested in cheating."
They explained that there's no anti-cheat: "Everything is client authoritative. Meaning most things you do inside the game are done via the client, the server does not check for any of these things. So for example, you can spawn items, manipulate your player's speed, damage, health, etc."
If Palworld is going to roll out its PvP plans, Xyrem concludes, "I think that this is the beginning stage for Palworld, so it is crucial to implement these things asap. So they don't hurt other player's experiences, as first impressions matter quite a lot. It is better to deal with them first, before any cheating epidemic occurs."
Still, Pocket Pair seems happy to drink from the poison chalice for now. It's currently second on Steam in terms of most concurrent players of all time - having obliterated Counter-Strike 2's 1.82 million with a healthy 2.03 million. Whether Palworld will topple PUBG's 3.26 million remains to be seen, but it's inching closer.
