Cheating has consequences beyond a single account.
Since the end of April, we have executed nearly 6,000 hardware bans across PC and console. While the majority of those bans impacted players on PC, we are actively increasing our utilization of hardware bans on consoles.
Hardware bans are one of many tools in our Anti-Cheat Team’s toolbelt and allow us to target systems designed to evade enforcement. Our tools identify repeat offenders and ensure that they will be unable to access Apex Legends, even if they spin up new accounts.
We occasionally see the community requesting hardware bans as a more permanent punishment for cheaters, and we wanted to provide more transparency into the matter - hardware bans are happening (and they’re represented in our ban number comms) and we are planning to utilize them even more, especially on consoles.
So, “why isn’t every ban worthy of a hardware ban?” Hardware bans are our most severe penalty so we reserve it as a proportional response when we encounter high severity cheating. We strive to reform rather than permanently banishing players from our game, so hardware bans typically target malicious bad actors and serial cheaters.
We are continuing to invest in new detections, strengthen our enforcement, and take action against those who threaten the integrity of Apex Legends. Fair play remains our priority.