Arrowhead Game Studios recently decided to introduce a new anti-cheat system to Helldivers 2. The co-op shooter is now protected using Easy Anti-Cheat.
Players met this update with a wave of criticism and a flood of negative reviews on Steam. The issue is that the anti-cheat update broke many popular mods for Helldivers 2—both gameplay and harmless cosmetic ones.
Now the developers have published a new dev blog explaining why they use EAC:
We added Easy Anti-Cheat for one reason: to reduce the number of cheaters entering your missions and ruining the experience. In that regard, we believe we are heading in the right direction.
The creators of Helldivers 2 addressed the complaints and “investigated how the code changes disabled cosmetic mods that do not affect gameplay.” As a result, adjustments were made that should allow some cosmetic mods to work once the next fix is released.
Gameplay mods will remain prohibited in Helldivers 2. The developers explained that they pose risks to game stability, and from a technical standpoint, running such mods is indistinguishable from attempting to cheat:
As for mods that affect gameplay, these modifications alter game code or game memory in ways that can impact game stability for both you and others in your lobby, causing client crashes and unpredictable match outcomes. While mods may seem harmless, any interference with game code or memory can severely impact the player experience.