Apex Legends developer Respawn commits to tackling cheaters

Apex Legends
(Image credit: Electronic Arts)

Apex Legends developer Respawn Entertainment has committed to fixing cheating in ranked, but in turn, has sparked a community hashtag that has trended on Twitter.

Cheating in the higher-tiers of Apex Legends ranked has been an ongoing heated issue for the game's community, and it appears to have spilled over past boiling point in the last day. 

Yesterday, Respawn Entertainment committed itself to tackle the cheating problem. In a post on Twitter, it tweeted out: 

However, sections of the community has hit back. In a TwitLonger post that has been retweeted over 11,200 times, professional Apex Player Chris "sweetdreams" Sexton shared a post complaining about the number of cheaters in high level ranked. It reads: "We are so done with it, it's to the point where we literally DO NOT know what to do, we just sit around month over month and nothing changes and it's demoralizing. Please take initiative and #SaveApexRanked, before it's too late."

The hashtag #SaveApexRanked has now trended across the world. It has been used by many notable Apex streamers and professional players, including ImperialHal, Daltoosh, iiTzTimmy, and Nokokopuffs

Respawn Entertainment director of communications, Ryan K. Rigney commented on the post, agreeing with portions of it, but arguing with some of the language used. Circling a line in Sexton's Twitlonger that reads, "don't let respawns tweet about intentions to help ranked fool you", he tweeted: 

Elsewhere, Apex Legends game designer Brian Vidovic added his take, echoing much of the sentiment saying:

He finished by saying: "Again, I get the frustration. BUT! Game development is insanely difficult. It is nonsense any games ever get finished TBH. But I get it. Please be patient. We'll fix it. We always do."

It's a salient point and one which is a reminder that the people behind the game care as much, if not more so, about the integrity of it as its fanbase. One way or another, here's hoping that Respawn can indeed get the cheating situation under control and make higher-end play a better experience for all. 

Apex Legends tips | How to download Apex Legends | Apex Legends best weapons | Apex Legends best characters | Apex Legends crafting metal | Apex Legends heirlooms | Apex Legends crossplay | Apex Legends skydive emotes

Freelance writer

Patrick Dane is the former Guides Editor at TechRadar. He is now a freelance games journalist writing for sites and publications such as GamesRadar, Metro, IGN, Eurogamer, PC Gamer, and the International Business Times, among others. He was also once the Managing Editor for Bleeding Cool. 

Read more
A player wearing a gasmask and holding a gun during the shooter, Call of Duty: Black Ops 6.
136,000 Call of Duty accounts have gotten banned since ranked launched for Black Ops 6: "We’re not slowing down in our mission to shut down cheaters"
Venom, Spider-Man, Peni Parker, Scarlet Witch, Magneto, and Storm pose in artwork for Marvel Rivals
Marvel Rivals devs lift bans on players mistakenly banned for cheating: "We do not and will not ban players who are playing fairly"
Fortnite character Jonesy looks shocked in the story trailer for Season X.
Fortnite is now giving cheaters "second chances" with 1-year bans that allow you to use the battle royale like it's Discord and do absolutely nothing else until you're freed from the void
Apex Legends Control
Months after ruling out an Apex Legends 2, EA CEO says "an even bigger, more meaningful" Apex 2.0 is on the table after Battlefield 6
Thor looking into the camera with a steely stare
Mere hours after enraging Marvel Rivals players with the announcement of a mid-season rank reset, NetEase Games quickly u-turns: "Players will retain their ranks and scores"
Marvel Rivals Iron Man
Marvel Rivals devs threaten keyboard and mouse adapter users with permanent bans: "On PC or console, we will take measures to vanquish this nefarious behavior"
Latest in Apex Legends
Apex Legends Control
Months after ruling out an Apex Legends 2, EA CEO says "an even bigger, more meaningful" Apex 2.0 is on the table after Battlefield 6
Lifeline looks into the camera with a smirk
After 5 years, Apex Legends is going back to the beginning with a Fortnite-style mode letting you experience the launch version of the battle royale FPS
Apex Legends
Apex Legends was a top 50 Steam Deck game, but EA's dropping Valve's handheld because it can't tell if those players are actually dirty cheating Linux users
Apex Legends Catalyst
72,632 'Overwhelmingly Negative' reviews later, EA walks back controversial Apex Legends battle pass changes: "You've spoken, and we've listened"
Apex Legends
EA announces Apex Legends is getting twice as many battle passes and you can no longer earn them in-game
Apex Legends
Apex Legends' new swimsuit skins have fans predictably down bad
Latest in News
Balatro
Balatro creator started "properly playing the game myself about a week before launch" and had "a pretty emotional moment" where he realized it's "actually fun"
Death Stranding 2 Collector's Edition
Hideo Kojima reveals Death Stranding 2: On the Beach release date, and the Collector's Edition includes exactly what I predicted it would
Kingmakers
Kingmakers is a strategy game about taking on medieval armies with a gun, but its devs thought the giant mech was too much
The Witcher 3 lead says "not many games" were trying to match the RPG back in 2015, and that meant "there was a risk" to making it in the first place
The Blood of Dawnwalker
The Witcher 3 dev says his new vampire RPG Blood of Dawnwalker wants to challenge genre conventions, but only if "we're changing them to actually achieve some goal"
Daredevil recap: The Defenders
Marvel fans are discussing which of the Netflix series characters would have survived the Blip