What you need to know
- VRChat is a virtual reality game where players can create large social worlds and interact with others with user-created 3D avatars.
- An upcoming update will add Easy Anti-Cheat software which will ban all mods.
- The game's community is not happy with the upcoming update and has review bombed the game's Steam page.
Virtual reality social platform VRChat will be introducing an update very soon that will implement anti-cheat software into the game and consequentially ban user mods, which has caused anger within the community.
The game's studio, VRChat Inc., announced earlier this week that the Oculus Quest 2 and SteamVR game would be receiving Easy Anti-Cheat (EAC) in an update going live "in the next few days." The service, which has been used in many modern online multiplayer games like Apex Legends and Fortnite, would ban clients from running modified software.
VRChat Inc. said the change was necessary because mods were the cause of many issues, even though mods were already a violation of the game's Terms of Service. Issues ranged from players' accounts being stolen, support swamped with bug reports caused by broken mods, and frustrated game creators also debugging mod problems.
"Every month, thousands of users have their accounts stolen, often due to running a modified client that is silently logging their keystrokes as well as other information," the studio said. "These users – often without even realizing it! – run the risk of losing their account, or having their computers become part of a larger botnet."
VRChat Inc. noted that many of the mods were used for features that players believe should be native in the game, and are working on planned features such as using the main menu while lying down and "a portable mirror that you can use to calibrate your full-body tracking." The company also said that no players will be banned if they have used mods in the past, and the game will simply not load if it detects any currently installed mods.
The VRChat community has not taken the EAC update lightly and has review-bombed the game's Steam page. Its "Recent Reviews" rating currently sits at "Mostly Negative" with over 12,000 reviews. Its top review claims many negative features will happen with EAC installed, such as lower framerates, Linux incompatibility, and stopping "wholesome" and accessibility mods.
The Meta Quest 2 offers increased power, resolution, and flexibility over the original virtual headset. It is a complete, all-in-one headset that does not need to be tethered to a PC or smartphone in order to work.
