- Kyle Chua
FIFA 23’s Cross-Play Implementation Faces Threat of Cheaters on PC
Updated: Oct 10, 2022
FIFA 23 has been out for less than a week and some players on PC have already managed to find ways to exploit the game to gain an unfair advantage.
While the issue isn't unique to this year's instalment of the longstanding sports simulation franchise, it's especially problematic due to it being the first to implement cross-play between multiple platforms. This means the player base that could be affected by cheating is even bigger than before, with PC, PlayStation and Xbox players being matched in the same pool.
Sportskeeda reports that cheaters have by and large stuck to PC as it's not as possible to install cheat tools or mods on consoles. But the introduction of cross-play, of course, blurs those lines now. What's also concerning is that the cheaters have managed to get around developer EA's new anti-cheat solution, which supposedly prevents players from injecting files or software into the game.
Twitter user @AsarJR_ claims that cheat tools are being sold in secret Discord servers. He managed to sneak into one of the servers and shared what he found. In the short clip he uploaded, the cheater won a FIFA Ultimate Team (FUT) Draft Match with a single click after kick-off. FUT is one of the most popular competitive modes in the franchise. It lets players build their dream team of players by opening packs they earn in-game or buy using real-world money.
There are also cheats that give players free wins after kick-off, kick opponents from matches, freeze games and boost player stats.
The cheats reportedly work by altering the base game's parameters and creating results that favour the cheaters.
EA has yet to respond to reports made by the community. However, console players who are worried about cheating can turn off cross-play in the game's options to avoid being matched with PC players. This is perhaps the best way for console players to get the best experience for now. Those on PC though might not have any other choice but to wait for the developers to address the cheating issues.
But beyond the FIFA franchise, cheating can threaten the way games might choose to implement cross-play. After all, this isn't the first game to be plagued by hackers and cheaters. Last year, Halo Infinite console players demanded an option to turn cross-play off for multiplayer as many were encountering cheaters on PC.
If this pattern continues, developers might be forced to rethink whether to implement cross-play features in their games. And that can prove to be a major loss for those who simply want to enjoy a game with their friends who are on different platforms.
FIFA 23 has been out for less than a week, and some players on PC have managed to find ways to exploit the game to gain an unfair advantage.
The issue is especially concerning this year as it's the first time in the franchise's long history that players on different platforms can play with one another.
A Twitter user found that cheat tools, which grant instant wins in online matches, are being sold in Discord servers.
Console players who are worried about cheating can turn off cross-play in the game's options to avoid being matched with PC players.