Riot Games Says It 'Would Not and Cannot' Use Vanguard Anti-Cheat to Brick PCs After Rumors Spread

Riot Games has stepped successful to squash rumors that it is utilizing its Vanguard anti-cheat to "brick" the PCs of players who get caught cheating successful its games.

Rumors that the League of Legends and Valorant developer was bringing a imperishable extremity to cheaters dispersed precocious yesterday pursuing an X/Twitter station from the company. In effect to a abstracted station astir its anti-cheat efforts, Riot posted an representation showing a postulation of hardware with the connection "congrats to the owners of a marque caller $6k paperweight."

It was a tongue-in-cheek ace astatine cheaters that rapidly evolved into rumors that the institution had the powerfulness to render PCs useless. It took Riot little than a time to wide the air, confirming some that it "would not, and cannot, interaction your PC's functionality" and that the paperweights it referred to were hardware utilized "explicitly for cheating." To enactment it plainly, Riot said, "Vanguard does not harm hardware oregon disable your devices."

congrats to the owners of a marque caller $6k paperweight https://t.co/3rjZVQntrc pic.twitter.com/fS3JC0FL0p

"The photograph we posted is simply a representation of cheat hardware devices that are sold explicitly for cheating successful VALORANT (not mean PCs oregon PC components)," Riot said. "Through our latest updates, Vanguard present makes those devices worthless for VAL, but does not successful immoderate mode ceramic PCs oregon PC components oregon PC software.

"Our latest update enforces modular level information features, similar the Input-Output Memory Management Unit (IOMMU), connected accounts identified arsenic utilizing Direct Memory Access (DMA) cheating devices. These protections are already portion of modern systems and erstwhile enabled, they artifact DMA cheat devices (such arsenic those shown successful the photo) from accessing representation successful downstream applications, similar our games."

Riot continued, explaining that cheaters whitethorn tally into hardware faults oregon instability if they continued cheat attempts. It added that "this is expected behavior," but if IOMMU is disabled, the cheating instrumentality should relation arsenic normal. Additionally, lone those who usage DMA-based cheats volition beryllium affected by the aforementioned issues.

"This means the cheat instrumentality won’t enactment with our games, but your PC isn’t 'bricked.' We would not, and cannot, interaction your PC’s functionality successful immoderate different fashion," it continued.

"We’ll support investing successful anti-cheat to support competitory integrity, and we’ll support being arsenic transparent arsenic imaginable astir however those systems work."

The League of Legends institution further attempted to dodge contention with a follow-up post. In it, Riot said that it "didn't" gag astir bricking PCs, lone astir Valorant cheating devices. It adjacent instructed cheaters connected however to hole immoderate paperweight-ing that whitethorn person occurred but says that, arsenic agelong arsenic they are utilizing DMA cheats, they "won't beryllium capable to play our games."

Riot's latest effort to quell instrumentality outcry follows a akin speech that sprouted up astir Vanguard successful 2024. At the time, players claimed that the developer was utilizing anti-cheat to ceramic PCs earlier the institution stepped successful to accidental that it was incapable to corroborate immoderate reports of bricking taking place.

Michael Cripe is simply a freelance writer with IGN. He's champion known for his enactment astatine sites similar The Pitch, The Escapist, and OnlySP. Be definite to springiness him a travel connected Bluesky (@mikecripe.bsky.social) and Twitter (@MikeCripe).