Respawn banned around 3,100 Apex Legends players for boosting each other in ranked lobbies by trading kills for points on May 8 as the studio’s war against cheaters continues.
This form of boosting has been running rampant in Respawn’s battle royale in recent months. It reached the point where console leaderboards were reportedly filled with boosters, and since nothing was being done about it, a third-party site created a private tool to detect lobbies with boosters, highlight the booster’s accounts, and more. Pressure had been mounting on Respawn to ban them ever since, and now the deed is done.
It’s not the first time the EA-owned company has banned lots of boosters in one wave. In Nov. 2020, it banned more than 400 high-ranked players for using an exploit to farm low-rank lobbies. Two years later, in July 2022, it continued the trend by banning thousands for using an exploit to boost themselves and friends in the Ranked Arena mode.
The community is thrilled about the latest ban wave, although there is some concern about the nature of the bans themselves.
Some fear the Apex suspensions won’t do anything in the long term if those who have been banned can simply create new accounts to circumvent it. As a result, they’re calling on Respawn to ban booster’s IP addresses and devices rather than their accounts. Still, the fact it has finally done something about it is a step in the right direction.
The ban wave happened right at the end of Apex Season 16. The next season is set to kick off on Tuesday, May 9, and will introduce a number of changes to the matchmaking system, as well as new content, and more.
Plus, now that thousands have been taken out of the equation—at least in some capacity—it means frustrated players can have the fresh start they desperately need.
