Helldivers 2 Switches to Easy Anti-Cheat, Breaking Mods and Triggering a Steam Review Backlash

Arrowhead Game Studios moved Helldivers 2 from GameGuard to Easy Anti-Cheat on October 20, rolling the change out alongside update 1.007.200 with additional security tools aimed at curbing a recent wave of cheat mods. The switch has also put a number of cosmetic and audio mods at risk, mods that had no impact on gameplay in the first place, and the backlash arrived almost immediately, with the game’s daily Steam review ratio taking a sharp dive within hours of the patch going live.

Why Arrowhead Made the Switch

Helldivers 2 has never officially supported mods, but a sizable library of player-made cosmetic and audio replacements has existed since launch without any real pushback from the studio. According to Arrowhead’s own Steam announcement, GameGuard simply wasn’t catching a recent uptick in cheat mods effectively enough, so the team opted for Easy Anti-Cheat instead, an industry-standard solution already used by many other live-service shooters. The studio says the new system arrives with extra security tools meant to improve overall game integrity rather than just flag cheaters after the fact.

Helldivers 2 moved from GameGuard to Easy Anti-Cheat on October 20 as part of update 1.007.200.

Cosmetic Mods Caught in the Crossfire

Because an anti-cheat system can’t always tell the difference between a mod that grants an unfair advantage and one that only changes how a helmet looks, some harmless cosmetic and audio mods are expected to stop working until their creators update them for the new system. Arrowhead said it has no way to predict exactly which mods will be affected, since using them has always been at players’ own risk, and pointed frustrated users toward its support channel for troubleshooting help.

“We appreciate the creativity behind cosmetic and non-gameplay mods.”

Arrowhead Game Studios

The studio added that where it needs to improve is protecting players from modifications that create unfair advantages or otherwise tamper with the game, which it frames as a separate issue from the cosmetic and audio mods the community has built up over the past two years.

Steam Reviews Take a Hit

The backlash was swift. Within hours of the update going live, Helldivers 2’s Steam discussion board had drawn well over a thousand replies, and PC Gamer reported the game’s negative reviews far outpacing positive ones on the day of the change alone. It isn’t the first time the Helldivers 2 community has turned to Steam reviews to voice frustration with a decision from Arrowhead or Sony, and the game has weathered Steam-related controversies before. Whether sentiment recovers once modders update their work and the new anti-cheat beds in remains to be seen, though update 1.007.200 also brings a fresh Warbond and a round of weapon and stratagem balance changes that should give players plenty else to talk about in the meantime.

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Picture Source: Arrowhead Game Studios