Are there cheaters on iRacing? Some suspect there are, and have been for some time. Apparently iRacing also suspects there may be cheaters within the ranks, and that it may be affecting their bottom line.
The latest news out of iRacing is that they will be adding “robust” new cheat detection and prevention software in the next build coming up some time this month. We all know that iRacing doesn’t lift a finger unless there are dollars involved, so the cheating suspicions must also be “robust” within iRacing’s management.
We all know there are those whose lap times are just a bit too consistent throughout the race. Everyone questions drivers who have an impossibly high win percentage. Those of us who have been around have looked at the sudden, overnight improvements of certain drivers. It’s naive to think that there are no iRacing hacks out there, but are these drivers cheating or are they really that good?
According to iRacing, they’re going to try to find out. With the fall build, iRacing will partner with EasyAntiCheat. EasyAntiCheat bills itself as a provider of a long term solution against cheating in multiplayer gaming communities. It includes client side protection, which means you will have to install the EasyAntiCheat software with the new iRacing build, as well as server side middleware.
As usual, iRacing’s PR is all bright and sunny regarding this new development. I’m also cautiously optimistic about this or any attempt to stop cheaters. I’ve always been a strong proponent of a fair playing field for everyone.
The problem is, if certain drivers continue to win practically every race they enter and maintain their impossibly high win percentages, other iRacers will continue to question the system. On the other hand, if these drivers suddenly fall off the face of the earth, we’ll have our answer.