Khizar Mundia 
Valve’s MOBA-shooter hybrid Deadlock is facing issues with cheaters and fans want to know whether Valve will implement an anti-cheat system in the game.
The 6×6 shooter Deadlock isn’t readily available to the public but that hasn’t stopped fans from getting access to the game from friends. The gameplay and the heroes have fans hooked to Deadlock and it shows with the ever-increasing number of players. However, even with the game getting a massive influx of players, fans face some issues.
The biggest issue is that cheaters have appeared and are threatening to ruin the game for everyone. Valve is trying to curb the use of cheats but fans wonder whether the studio will implement an anti-cheat system in Deadlock.
Does Deadlock have VAC?
Deadlock doesn’t have any built-in anti-cheat engine.
Anti-cheat engines are standard for multiplayer games. Vanguard is used across Riot Games’ 2XKO, Valorant, and League of Legends while Activision made Ricochet for Call of Duty. Many games turn to third-party anti-cheat engines like the controversial Denuvo. None of these methods are completely successful, but they’ve proven to be better than nothing.
Deadlock simply doesn’t have anything at this point in its beta period.
The game isn’t completely lawless. Manual bans have been rolled out for egregious cheaters. However, there’s no question that there are many more getting away with hacking.
Will Deadlock get an anti-cheat system?
A Valve developer confirmed on the game’s official Discord that Deadlock’s anti-cheat system is currently underway.
A confirmed Valve developer using the handle Yoshi announced that the developers are working on adding an anticheat to Deadlock. Even though the game isn’t fully released, players have already started to use cheats, which is to be expected from a competitive shooter.
The developers encourage players to report in-game cheaters they encounter. The reports are verified by a team of moderators who ensure the reported players are actually cheating since false and incorrect reports are common. While this measure is a positive sign, the actions aren’t taken immediately.
Most anti-cheat systems work by automatically detecting suspicious activity and the use of third-party software. Thanks to this, other players don’t have to report cheaters, and immediate action is sometimes taken against cheaters, making this approach more practical.
How will Valve implement the anti-cheat in Deadlock?
The developer didn’t explain in-depth how the anti-cheat will work in Deadlock but game will likely use VAC.
There is no information on what kind of anti-cheat system Valve will implement in Deadlock. However, there is a high probability that the developers will implement Valve’s own VAC. The system is used in previous Valve titles including Counter-Strike 2 and Dota 2, so it’s logical that the same engine will be added to Deadlock.
The method Valve’s anti-cheat software uses to catch and ban cheaters is straightforward. The software uses signature scanning to catch anomalies. Then, it compares the detected anomalies to a list of banned applications in its database. If the software finds a positive match, then it bans the offender.
This anti-cheat system is used in over 100 games and even in the popular Counter-Strike games. However, the issue with this system is that since Deadlock is free-to-play, cheaters can simply make a new account if the software bans them due to cheating.
Counter-Strike 2 fixes this issue by implementing a one-time Prime membership that players can purchase. Only Prime players can earn XP and play in the ranked queue to climb against other Prime players. This method costs money and makes it much harder for players to jump back into competitive play after getting banned.
