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Every Game with Kernel-Level Anti-Cheat Software

  • Dan Alder
  • Jan 13, 2021
  • 2 minute read
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This is a comprehensive and continuously updated list that we gathered of all games that use controversial kernel-level anti-cheat software and the developers and publishers behind them. The most popular third-party kernal-level anti-cheat software are EasyAntiCheat, PunkBuster, Battleye, and Xigncode3. Some developers opt for their own proprietary software like Riot’s Vanguard. Others like that of Valve’s VAC or Blizzard’s Warden aren’t included because they don’t operate on the kernel level.

We should point out that Denuvo has come up with its own kernel-level anti-cheat software and this should not be confused with their popular DRM anti-tamper software. Doom Eternal was the first game to implement this and an update was later released removing it due to backlash from gamers. For the sake of completeness we also included ESEA’s and FaceIT’s implementations, but it should be noted these are not used by the developers of the games and are for competitive purposes.

As games add or remove kernel-level anti-cheat software we will adapt this list accordingly.

wdt_ID Game Software Developer Publisher

When it comes to the popularity of kernel-level anti-cheat software, the bluntly named Easy Anti-Cheat by Epic Games is the most popular. It can be found in 108 games and includes some of the most popular games like Fortnite and Apex Legends.

PunkBuster you might remember from way back when some of us were playing Battlefield on GameSpy servers. It has had its own share of controversy in its days and dropped in popularity since then. That said it still bundled in more games than BattlEye, another emerging software, at 57 versus 37.

The most obscure of the third-party software is XIGNCODE3 with 7 games. You can find this software mostly in titles made by Korean developers.

The newest of the bunch and the one with arguably the most drama is Riot’s Vanguard software used in Valorant and possibly League of Legends in the near future. Amongst controversy, Riot later made it possible to disable Vanguard while you aren’t playing Valorant, but it has to be on when you do want to play. Additionally it put out a bounty of upwards of $100,000 for anyone that can “demonstrate practical exploits leveraging the Vanguard kernel driver.”

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Dan Alder

Dan's logged far too many hours in CS 1.6 and reminisces about LAN parties back in the good ol' days. He's also an engineer that's interested in anything to do with tech.

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12 comments
  1. Peter says:
    Jan 13, 2021 at 8:16 am

    I don’t think The Isle uses BattlEye anymore. see https://steamcommunity.com/games/TheIsle/announcements/detail/1669018404091993526

    “- Added Steam Authentication and Valve Anti-Cheat support.
    For many reasons on a list longer than the petition of players who want Half-Life 3, we’re moving away from BattlEye.”

    1. Dan Alder says:
      Jan 13, 2021 at 9:38 pm

      Thanks Peter, we’ve gone ahead and removed The Isle.

  2. ThatTruposz says:
    Nov 15, 2020 at 8:43 pm

    Genshin: Impact and Houkai 3rd Also have a kernel-level anti-cheat called mhyprot2.
    This one MiHoYo, a developer of games above, developed in-house.
    Source:
    https://www.reddit.com/r/Genshin_Impact/comments/j02fn4/mhyprot2sys/
    https://www.reddit.com/r/Genshin_Impact/comments/go79on/concerns_about_the_anticheat/g5h3htw/

    1. Dan Alder says:
      Nov 15, 2020 at 10:39 pm

      Added! Thanks again.

  3. ThatTruposz says:
    Oct 30, 2020 at 1:32 am

    Watch Dogs: Legion use a BattlEye. Source: https://www.reddit.com/r/linux_gaming/comments/jjrvsx/my_watch_dogs_legion_findings_so_far_no_luck_so/

    1. Dan Alder says:
      Nov 2, 2020 at 3:08 pm

      Thanks for the heads up!

  4. Ettanin says:
    Oct 12, 2020 at 2:27 pm

    Fall Guys began using Easy Anti Cheat.

    For a list of all games using EAC, check: https://easy.ac/en-us/partners/

    1. Dan Alder says:
      Oct 12, 2020 at 8:35 pm

      Thanks! Updated.

  5. KZT says:
    Aug 5, 2020 at 12:22 pm

    TERA NA dont use any anti-cheat, it was in the past, but it got removed some months later due to certain drama.

    P.S: Half-Community veteran players use third party apps & mods to play

    P.S2: TERA not works on linux via wine/proton due to certain error unrelated to any anticheats, it is more due to own game unoptimized

    I dont know about others regions.

  6. Richard says:
    Jul 23, 2020 at 12:33 am

    Punkbuster isn’t kernel based these days. DuckDuckGo searches for PnkBstrK.sys seem to only give pages from 2007/2008. Would you provide some justification for calling it kernel anticheat?

    Also, you missed Tenprotect from TenCent. I don’t know which games use it though.

    1. A Violent Shade of Purple says:
      Oct 5, 2020 at 9:57 pm

      Do you have any evidence that it was removed? I’m seeing more recent things that still talk about it being kernel-based.

  7. Tony says:
    Jun 29, 2020 at 12:58 pm

    Thanks Dan for putting this list together. I had been looking for a complete DRM Anti-cheat software list for a while. Now I can easily avoid all of the BattlEye games on Steam.

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