Arrowhead Game Studios is considering the deletion of GameGuard, its kernel-level anti-cheat solution, which is presently part of its best-selling title, Helldivers 2. This admission comes from Arrowhead CEO Shams Jorjani, who noted that players are rather vocal in their outcry over the software due to perceived impacts on technical performance and interference with established accessibility features. Aside from the fact that internal talks show a definite parting of ways with the studio’s previous stance, they will also evaluate recent high tides of technical complaints and optimization problems that followed the release of the content update Into the Unjust.
For several months now, GameGuard has remained a hotbed of controversy within the Helldivers 2 community. The anti-cheat is kernel-level, requiring deep system permissions for it to work. There has been friction within the gaming landscape regarding its use over the history of games. Players have pointed it out among the primary ones causing performance slowdowns and problems of instability across the systems. The puzzle is further complicated with the fact that Pilestedt, the studio’s former CEO and now Chief Creative Officer, confirmed they were investigating reports of blockage of certain accessibility options from GameGuard.
Mr. Jorjani responded to a fan question about the principal Helldivers 2 Discord. The development is what they have currently engaged the studio in towards finalizing the next important game patch. After this release, this will become a primary project within the removal or replacement of the anti-cheat system. The CEO has termed the endeavor as preparing to “tackle this other hydra head,” an indication as regards the complication that such a core system was very much coupled up with the system architecture of the game. Jorjani recently came to the defense of the anti-cheat, dismissing the performance-related allegations; however, the public commitment suggests an internal reassessment of the seriousness of the concern.
With GameGuard falling away, it reflects a general antithetical tendency in the industry when such anti-tampering or anti-cheat programs are removed after the launch in response to a backlash from the players regarding their invasiveness or impact on performance. Often, these systems such as Denuvo are removed, showing developers’ willingness to prefer player experience as over-concerned as anti-cheat measures might be, whenever initial stability after launch has been achieved. This news from Arrowhead should be met with widespread approval, as it seems to be the long-term answer to the technical turbulence that has been overhead while the democracy continues to spread across the galaxy.
