Chaos at “Apex Legends”: Suspected hacker attack – professional gamers cheat against their will

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“Apex Legends” player Genburten appears surprised (seen in the camera image): He was one of two prominent hacking victims on Sunday

Photo: Twitch / Genburten

It's a tweet that no tournament organizer likes to send: "Because the competitive integrity of this series is at risk, we have decided to postpone the North American finals," writes the account of the "Apex Legends Global Series," which is the official championship heard in the online video game.

Something had previously happened that shocked the professional scene of “Apex Legends”: in quick succession on Sunday, several e-sports games from the North America region were manipulated by hacker attacks.

For two gamers, banned cheat software was apparently activated without their consent, i.e. a cheating program.

The professional ImperialHal desperately pointed this out himself during a game: "I'm cheating, I'm cheating, I'm cheating," he shouted, as documented in a video clip.

According to ImperialHal's own statements, a so-called aimbot had been activated.

Such unauthorized aiming assistance ensures that opponents are automatically targeted correctly and are therefore easier to hit.

"Apex Legends" is a shooter game, and such a tool can be a decisive advantage.

ImperialHal's account was temporarily suspended following the incident.

The professional player Genburten had previously made it public while playing and in front of the camera that he was being hacked and therefore cheating unintentionally.

When Genburten realized that he could constantly see the other players' positions - even through walls - he quickly left his ongoing match as a precaution.

A software menu was briefly visible on his screen during the game, which apparently belonged to cheat software.

How exactly the hacks were carried out is still unclear in detail - although initial evidence, which is difficult to verify from the outside, points to remote control execution (RCE).

The term refers to attacks in which the hacker or hackers execute code on their victim's device.

This is usually made possible by exploiting a serious software security hole.

In the course of the incidents, the hacker names of two suspected perpetrators made the rounds via the “Apex Legends” game chat.

Cheating usually results in disqualification

In the official rules of the "Apex Legends Global Series" the use of cheats of any kind is mentioned as a possible reason for disqualification, as is the use of hacks or other "auxiliary software" from third parties.

However, those rules are based on the assumption that players use such tricks consciously, not on the premise that someone from outside is sabotaging their games.

Respawn Entertainment, the studio behind “Apex Legends,” has not yet commented on the incident in detail.

The German press office of Electronic Arts, the publisher of the video game, also said in response to a SPIEGEL query that the company had not yet made a statement about the events.

Like other online shooters, “Apex Legends” has had massive problems with cheating software for years.

The development team has promised several times to focus more on the topic.

However, the current case suggests that there still appear to be gateways for trolls and deceivers.

When exactly the North American finals will take place and how Respawn will guarantee the integrity of the competition this time is currently unknown.

mbo