Riot Games’ anti-cheat software Vanguard is once again facing sharp criticism. The U.S.-based company has now responded with a statement.
Vanguard is an anti-cheat program that has been the subject of regular controversy since its release. Critics primarily take issue with the software’s extensive system privileges, while privacy advocates denounce its lack of transparency. Now, a rumor has also been circulating that Vanguard can completely cripple hardware. A misconception, as Riot Games clarifies.
Expensive paperweights
Just a few days ago, a post from Riot Games circulated on X in which numerous computer components were referred to as “$6k paperweights,” meaning paperweights costing $6,000. The background to this is a new Vanguard update, which, according to rumors, is capable of rendering so-called cheat hardware unusable.
This led to the impression within the community that Vanguard could now also disable conventional PC hardware or entire systems. The discussion eventually escalated to the point where Riot Games published an official statement to set the record straight.
“Vanguard does not damage hardware or disable devices,” writes the developer of Valorant. Instead, the software aims to take dedicated cheat hardware out of circulation. “Through our latest updates, Vanguard renders these devices useless for Valorant.”
However, according to Riot, if users continue to attempt to use such devices to cheat in Valorant despite the new protective measures, this could lead to problems. “If a cheat setup continues to attempt to cheat after these protective mechanisms have been activated, it can lead to hardware errors or system instability.”