Halo Infinite’s anti-cheat software will reportedly protect Xbox players from PC hackers. It was previously revealed that Halo Infinite will have full crossplay and cross-progression between Xbox, PC, and xCloud. The decision fits with Microsoft’s goal to integrate its console with the PC ecosystem, creating communities around games rather than platforms. Though the choice will likely build a broader community around Halo Infinite, bringing players together from across the gaming spectrum – from Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One, PC, and mobile devices – it does elicit worry from fans who fear PC hackers will infiltrate the game. That, in turn, creates an extra challenge for the developers.
While crossplay has been considered a marketable feature in modern gaming, it does bring additional challenges. For instance, a keyboard and mouse are said to be superior to controllers. Due to the maneuverability of a mouse over a joystick, many players believe there is an inherent advantage while using a mouse and keyboard. For competitive FPS games, this can create a skill gap between those using a traditional PC control layout to those utilizing the console controller. The Halo Infinite developers addressed that crossplay issue by creating three different competitive hoppers, the mouse and keyboard hopper, controller hopper, and crossplay hopper to give players a choice. Another challenge when incorporating crossplay is the increased presence of hackers on PC over consoles, which can affect the competitive atmosphere of a game. 343 Industries reportedly have an answer for that, too.
To combat the PC hackers, the Halo Infinite devs developed an anti-cheat system that is supposed to protect Xbox players. On the Halo YouTube channel, developers outlined the key philosophies behind Halo Infinite’s anti-cheat software. Principal Software Engineer Michael Vankuipers claimed that the team “made a commitment early on that we don’t want to have any complex DRM or anything that’s going to inhibit a player’s ability to play the way they want to play,” but the team still believed it was important to create a comprehensive anti-cheat to protect Xbox players. The dev did remark that while the anti-cheat was important, “we want to respect players’ privacy, especially legitimate players’ privacy. You know, we’re going to continue to evolve it into whatever is necessary and whatever our players need to have a fair experience.”
Watch the PC Overview for Halo Infinite on YouTube here.
DRM or Denuvo Anti-Tamper technology has previously been criticized for high CPU usage in PCs, which can negatively affect gameplay while active. Decreased performance and privacy issues are often a common concern when games utilize DRM anti-cheat. Reps from 343 Industries mentioned that the anti-cheat wouldn’t have complex DRM, though that could still mean there is still some degree of DRM in place.
While crossplay does offer unique benefits such as shorter matchmaking wait times and a larger, connected community around a game, it does elicit other concerns. In the case of Halo Infinite, it seems 343 Industries has made strides to protect Xbox players from PC hackers in order to legitimize the competitive atmosphere surrounding the game. Hopefully, it does the job without hampering performance.
Halo Infinite launches on PC, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S on December 8, 2021.
Source: Halo/YouTube