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Marvel Rivals unbans Steam Deck and Mac players wrongly caught up in cheater purgeNetEase “sincerely apologize” for flagging compatibility layers as naughty business
NetEase “sincerely apologize” for flagging compatibility layers as naughty business
Image credit:Rock Paper Shotgun/NetEase Games
Image credit:Rock Paper Shotgun/NetEase Games
Steam Deck, Mac, and other Linux-based enjoyers of superhero shooter hitMarvel Rivalscan once again play without fear of being pulped under an unlawfully swung banhammer. Developers NetEase had recently doled outbans of up to 100 yearsto players they suspected of cheating, but in their eagerness, failed to distinguish between legitimate compatibility layers – the software that non-Windows operating systems, like the Steam Deck’s SteamOS, use to run native Windows games – and actual hacks. PerIGN, NetEase have now apologised to the affected players, and lifted the bans.
“We sincerely apologize for this situation and want to assure you that we do not and will not ban players who are playing fairly and without cheating,” NetEase’sDiscordstatement reads, perhaps not with the kind of wording I’d use if I’d just banned players who are playing fairly and without cheating. It continues: “We have identified the specific reasons behind these false bans and have compiled a list of affected players. We have lifted these bans and want to express our heartfelt apologies for the inconvenience this has caused.”
Proton, the specific compatibility layer that SteamOS integrates, does have some past form for triggering certain anti-cheat systems, though in the Deck’s early days this was more down to a simple lack of software compatibility rather than genuine concerns over Proton’s potential dodginess. Still, the prospect of exposing games to the untameable, open-source Linux still spooks some developers. Fortnite hasnever worked on SteamOS, for one, andApex Legendsrecentlycut supportover potential cheating concerns.
Fair play to NetEase for refraining from such a heavy handed approach, even if youstill can’t mention Winnie the Poohin its chat.
