‘Escape From Tarkov”s volunteer anti-cheat Discord shuts down after just two weeks

A community-led anti-cheat Discord that provided report filtering for Escape From Tarkov developer Battlestate Games has shut down, less than two weeks after the initiative was announced.

Launched by content creator Trey24k on February 15, the ‘Community Driven Anti-Cheat’ was intended as a place where players could submit video evidence to report suspected cheaters. The footage was reviewed by the Discord’s volunteers and if it seemed like cheating was involved, it was passed to a team at Battlestate Games for further investigation that could lead to a ban.

However, the Discord came under fire when streamer Dylhero was incorrectly banned following a submission to the Community Driven Anti-Cheat. The ban was then overturned when the streamer submitted a video recorded from his perspective, which revealed he was merely suffering from de-sync caused by the game’s server.

While Trey24k originally said that “nobody will be banned due to the contents of any video alone” and denied claims that players would be banned for lagging, today (February 28) he has announced an end to the Community Driven Anti-Cheat.

In a video, Trey24k claims he learned of Dylhero’s ban when he spotted his name on a ban list published by Battlestate Games. After watching Dylhero’s perspective of the clip, he got in touch with Battlestate Games to ensure it had been reviewed manually, and was told “every case is reviewed accordingly no matter where it’s coming from.”

The content creator does not believe that is the case, however, and says he is “furious” that the Discord led to a false ban. He went on to say that he saw multiple people claim they were innocent following a Discord review and subsequent ban, but originally dismissed them as cheaters trying to evade punishment.

Now, Trey24k admits Battlestate Games is “not reviewing these thoroughly enough” and says he “put way too much faith” in the developer. He added that he is “truly sorry” for any false bans the Discord has led to.

“We agreed the Discord server’s reports would be treated in a certain way, and even though BSG claims this is the case, I don’t think that’s possible given the Dylhero situation,” he stated. “I feel misled by BSG and disgusted to have put my reputation on the line so confidently for something I now feel like was a lie from the beginning. I should not have trusted what I thought to be fact. I am sorry.”

Currently, Battlestate Games is under fire over a video that claims to reveal how widespread cheating in Escape From Tarkov is. Today, the studio announced that it has increased the detection speed of its anti-cheat but acknowledged wider changes may take “a lot of overhaul.”

In other gaming news, Beyond Good & Evil 2 developer Ubisoft Montpellier has reportedly parted ways with its studio head, with reports claiming the company faces a labour investigation.