Respawn reveal Linux ban reduced number of Apex games with cheaters by 33%

Respawn have revealed the impact of their controversial decision to remove Linux compatibility for the game. The decision was justified as urgently needed action to reduce the number of cheaters in Apex Legends games.

It seems that in Season 23, that decision has proved to be the correct one, with a huge reduction in what respawn is calling the "infection rate" of games in Battle Royale modes.

It was a big decision to remove Apex Legends from Linux (and Steam Deck, by extension) at the end of October. The decision drew criticism from Linux users, although Apex is not the only major game to not be avaliable on the platform. the likes of GTA online, Fortnite, Destiny 2, Valorant, League of Legends and more are not avaliable on the platform either.

It was also becoming clear that cheating was significantly hurting Apex Legends. While we never get confirmed numbers of cheaters, Respawn revealed that they have banned over 6 million accounts since launch back in August.

The cheater problem was causing a lot of negative discourse around the game. Players were finding high level ranked Apex games infested with cheaters. That left the biggest names in Apex unwilling to grind the ranked mode of the game. The knock-on effect of this is less Twitch streams, less eyes on the game and less interest. This has been a major backdrop to a concerning decline in player numbers on Steam.

However, watching any ranked player this season would show you there are far less cheaters in the game in Apex Season 23. This has coincided with a modest increase in player numbers, more big names grinding for number one rank predator, and an increase in the number of people streaming Apex on Twitch.

In an impressive show of transparency, Respawn have shared the impact on cheaters that Season 23 has seen.

They are reporting a 33% drop in the "infection rate", a extremely significant drop in the number of cheaters. Their graph, while unlabelled in terms of raw numbers, shows that this is an even further reduction from September and mid-Octobers numbers too.

However, Respawn also acknowledge that over recent weeks the number of cheaters has risen slightly in Apex Legends. Addressing this they say "As the new season has progressed, we did see a bit of a rise in the infection rate and while security risks are always evolving, we're committed to adapting and improving our anti-cheat efforts to combat these threats."

Overall, it seems Apex Legends has turned a corner with the number of cheaters in the game. Stay tuned to esports.gg for the latest Apex Legends Season 23 news.