Apex Legends issues nearly 6,000 hardware bans
Respawn issued nearly 6,000 hardware bans across PC and consoles since late April to block serial cheaters; most affected PC players and console bans are rising, the anti-cheat team wrote July 13.
Respawn Entertainment’s anti-cheat team reported on July 13 that since the end of April it has issued nearly 6,000 hardware bans across PC and consoles to block serial cheaters.
Hardware bans block a device or system-level identifier rather than an account, making it harder for flagged users to return to the same machine even if they create new accounts.
The update reads:
While the majority of those bans impacted players on PC, we are actively increasing our utilization of hardware bans on consoles.
In May Respawn reported 139,697 bans across all platforms for various cheating infractions. The studio also clarified that certain aim-assist exploits described as “jitter aim” are now classed as cheating and are subject to penalties.
Respawn described hardware bans as the most severe form of punishment and reserved them for “malicious bad actors and serial cheaters.” The team added that hardware bans let staff “target systems designed to evade enforcement” and identify “repeat offenders,” restricting access even if those players create new accounts.
Respawn combines account-level bans, hardware restrictions and policy updates to address persistent cheating methods. The anti-cheat team wrote it will continue increasing hardware bans on consoles while maintaining a strong focus on PC enforcement.
Earlier, we reported that Apex Legends’ final at Esports World Cup 2026 drew more than 440,000 peak viewers, a 74% increase from EWC 2025.
Articles by this author
