The Nintendo Switch exclusive Splatoon 2 is one of the best games on the console — and one of the best competitive shooters this generation — but it has recently run into a problem with cheaters ruining the experience. Thus far, Nintendo hasn’t addressed the problem, but one frustrated fan took matters into their own hands.
On Thursday, July 12, Splatoon 2 players in the “X” rank noticed that the leaderboard looked a little bit odd. In place of the top four scorers were the words “please,” “add,” “anti,” and “cheat,” a call to action for Nintendo.
Someone hacked the Splatoon 2 X Rank Leaderboard in an effort to call out Nintendo's lack of response to cheaters.
"Please add anti cheat" pic.twitter.com/ehz4mmWL3c
— Nintendeal (@Nintendeal) July 12, 2018
A Reddit user going by the handle “PleaseAddAntiCheat” came forward shortly after modifying the leaderboard to explain their actions.
“Splatoon 2 is a game that I love so very deeply,” they said. “Despite having its connectivity issues, I think it provides a healthy and competitive environment for all players. It advocates strategy and a strong sense of teamwork. It is because of this [that] everyone enjoys Splatoon, and enjoys the fun of fighting for a rank or a league position. However, this will not be true as long as there are cheaters lurking around.”
Cheaters in Splatoon 2 have been caught increasing the power of weapons, removing cooldown times, and even turning invincible. They threaten to ruin a game that found a community of more casual players who weren’t so worried about winning every match like Call of Duty or Battlefield players, but the game has still found a competitive scene.
Anti-cheat software is used in a variety of other online shooters, and Ubisoft has taken particularly bold steps toward making Rainbow Six Siege a fair place to play online. In addition to programs used to detect cheaters and regularly banning those found to have cheated, the PC version even runs software to scan for “known cheat signatures.”
We’re hoping the cheating problem in Splatoon 2 doesn’t spread to Nintendo’s other online games such as Mario Tennis Aces or Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. The latter game is out this December and promises to be one of the biggest titles on the console, packing in every playable character who has ever appeared in the series.
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