Respawn Enhances Apex Legends Protection Following Tournament Hack Incident

Over the weekend, the North American Apex Legends Global Series (ALGS) esports finals were disrupted when professional players' accounts were compromised by hackers. The intrusion occurred during the competition, leading to an immediate suspension of the event. The hackers, identified by the usernames Destroyer2009 and R4ndom, reportedly installed cheats on the players' accounts during a live match.

In response to the incident, Respawn Entertainment, the developers of Apex Legends, has rolled out the first in a series of security updates aimed at reinforcing the protection of its player community and ensuring a secure gaming experience. Although specifics of the breach have not been disclosed, the company has made it clear that safeguarding game and player security is a top priority.

The hacking episode has raised broader concerns regarding the safety of multiplayer games and has affected the trust of some players in Apex Legends, with reports of players uninstalling the game until the issue is fully addressed. Meanwhile, Easy Anti-Cheat, the anti-cheat service used by Apex Legends, has denied any responsibility for the security lapse.

Despite the setback, Respawn Entertainment has not indicated any changes to the ALGS tournament schedule. The company has also not provided details on the full scope of the updates or their deployment timeline. Additionally, there has been a recent round of layoffs within the Apex Legends team, but the connection, if any, between these layoffs and the security breach has not been made clear.