Apex Legends developer ups in-game security after tournament hack

Developer Respawn has addressed the recent Apex Legends hacks.

Earlier this week, a hacking incident occurred during the Apex Legends Global Series that resulted in the tournament being halted for safety concerns. Following reports of this hack, Easy Anti-Cheat released a statement stating it was “confident” its software was not the issue, after some had expressed concern.

Now, in a statement shared today, Respawn has confirmed players were hacked during the tournament, adding it will be releasing a “series of updates” which will add extra protection to the game.

“On Sunday, a few professional Apex Legends player accounts were hacked during an ALGS event,” Respawn's statement reads. “Game and player security are our highest priorities, which is why we paused the competition to address the issue immediately.”

The studio said it has now issued the first of a “layered series” of updates to protect its community, with the aim of creating a “secure experience for everyone.”

“Thank you for your patience,” Respawn closed.

Sunday's hacks were believed to be the work of Destroyer2009, a cheater who's recently been appearing in Apex Legends.

Apex pro “Genburten” shared a clip of the moment they were hacked, showing that the words “Apex hacking global series by Destroyer2009 and R4ndom” were being spammed into the chat. Meanwhile, the pro could see the location of every player in the game. This included those behind walls. The player stated “I'm being hacked”, and left the game as a result.