Splatoon 3 is set to release on the Nintendo Switch very soon, and many have been surprised to find out that cheaters are already being banned before the game is even out. This is due to Splatoon 3's early demo, which let players have a Splatfest from August 27 to 28. Players got to choose between Rock, Paper, or Scissors and then battle. Some decided to cheat, using a user-made patch that gave them even earlier access to the practice lobby.
Nintendo proved then that cheating will not at all be tolerated, as they did not just permanently ban players from the Switch's Online multiplayer, but banned them from their own consoles (this means their device will not have access to online Nintendo services). While most now have their eyes on Splatoon 3's anti-cheat methods, Splatoon actually has had a long history of cheaters.
Cheating In Splatoon 2
Back in 2018, Polygon published an article titled "Splatoon 2 hackers are a big problem, and players demand help." According to the article, the hackers did not only cheat to win, but also found ways to manipulate the reporting system. This all built up to a moment hard to ignore, as a fan managed to hack themselves into the public top player leaderboards and display the message, "Please add anti-cheat" as their usernames. This user, PleaseAddAntiCheat, wrote more of their thoughts on the Splatoon subreddit, saying that they figured someone needed to deliver a loud message to Nintendo.
PleaseAddAntiCheat was eventually confirmed to have been banned from Splatoon 2's multiplayer for hacking the leaderboards. According to other Reddit users, telling the difference between lagging and someone cheating in a game can be difficult to pinpoint. It could also be hard to tell the difference between a hacker and just a very skilled player, though some claim that cheaters can extend the range of their weapons or even become invisible. Many, however, claimed in forums that cheating was near non-existent, despite the PleaseAddAntiCheat situation and the Polygon article stating otherwise.
What could be the truth for Splatoon 2 is that hackers are just difficult to recognize. The ones that seem to recognize it the most are other people capable of hacking, like PleaseAddAntiCheat. This could have made an effective anti-cheat system quite difficult for Nintendo, as players may easily report someone who is just very skillful at the game or fail to report someone because they didn't notice the hacking.
Cheating In Original Splatoon
The original Splatoon on the Wii U was the title most known for cheaters. Five years ago, Reddit users posted that they were horrified for the legacy of the original game. Cheaters could get super speed, instantly cover maps with ink, and even get invulnerability that allowed them to swim in the ink of opponents. Back then, hackers even had methods to undo their bans by changing text in a certain file. A lot of players were understandably upset, and this gave them little confidence for Splatoon 2.
This goes to show how much Nintendo has learned when it comes to dealing with cheaters. One of the big reasons cheating was so awful in the original game was that Nintendo had a lot to learn, as Splatoon was the first title in the series and the Wii U was a different system from the Nintendo Switch. With Splatoon 3, not only does Nintendo have more experience with the series, but it also has more experience with the Nintendo Switch and potential methods of cheating. Based on the bans following the demo, it seems like cheaters will be dealt with quickly in Splatoon 3.
Splatoon 3 will release on September 9 for Nintendo Switch.
