Bungie bans 15,000 Halo: Reach cheaters

By Wesley Yin-Poole Published 2 October, 2010

This is just the beginning, soldier.

Bungie has banned a whopping 15,000 Halo: Reach cheaters – and promised more is to come.

Some sneaky Reach players (not you, we hope) had found a way to earn cheap in-game credits via an exploit.

It's all to do with something called "network manipulation and other easily detectable workarounds that fall well outside of standard gameplay".

The developer's answer? Wipe their credits out and ban them from obtaining credits for one day.

"Specifically, we targeted an exploit that allowed players to complete a Challenge 20+ times via intentional network manipulation (i.e., disconnects)," Bungie said.

"Spot checks have revealed the tell-tale signature of this behaviour on every denier so far, so don't be fooled by the protests of innocence. We aren't.

"We are in the process of applying credit resets to approximately 15,000 users who we have identified as the most egregious Challenge Reset abusers.

"A one day credit earning ban has also been applied, mostly to ensure that recipients receive an in-game notification of the action taken.

"As with any such measure, we have taken the time to carefully select our criteria to eliminate false positives.

"A more comprehensive pass will be occurring in the coming week as our automated Banhammer mechanisms grow accurate enough to satisfy our high bar for burden of proof. If you are thinking about getting an easy 50k credits by using this exploit, I would strongly advise you to reconsider."

You have been warned.

Halo: Reach generated $200 million in its first 24 hours on sale, and is the biggest Microsoft published game ever. It's also pretty good.

Picture of Wesley.

About Wesley Yin-Poole

Wesley is Eurogamer's news editor. He likes news, interviews, and more news. He also likes Street Fighter more than anyone can get him to shut up about it.

Read more articles from Wesley by visiting the Wesley Yin-Poole archive page.

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Comments (39) Latest comment 2 years ago

Comments for this article are now closed, but please feel free to continue chatting on the forum!

  • SwitchBladeUK #1 2 years ago

    Lol

  • Windypops #2 2 years ago

    Are there any other exploits that allow players to be, like, really good? Or am I just shit? It's the latter isn't it.

  • karooo #3 2 years ago

    15000 gone out of 5 million, wont hurt the game much I guess.

  • JahB #4 2 years ago

    Bungie has banned a whopping 15,000 Halo: Reach cheaters

    The developer's answer? Wipe their credits out and ban them from obtaining credits for one day.

    Wesley, you might wanna look up what a "ban" is. This is a stats wipe, nobody's getting banned, and you turn it into a completely incorrect sensationalist headline. Aka "lying".

    Can we please get a new news editor?

  • shinesevens #5 2 years ago

    Considering this was a single player "glitch" that Bungie left in the game and all it affected was in game currency and not other people's MP experience then I think Bungie have over reacted to this. Even though the ban was 1 day I think it simply demonstrates how far up their own arses Bungie actually are.

    Way to go Bungie, thanks for protecting me from some kid getting a new set of shoulder pads on their armour.

    Twats.

  • MiniAmin #6 2 years ago

    @JahB

    Perhaps i'm a pedant but ban them from obtaining credits for one day. certainly reads like a ban to me.

  • udders #7 2 years ago

    I hate cheaters and their are so many on xbox. U are only cheating yourself, so sod u all FIFA , gears and halo cheaters!!!

  • Shikasama #8 2 years ago

    noface - A favourite faulty argument that is. If you aren't more succesfull than the target of your ire in that particular field, you aren't allowed to have an opinion?

    That means I'm only allowed to have an opinion on selling cruises :(

  • Amblin #9 2 years ago

    I don't get the hack, I know of the missions completion on legendary without dying, I know of the vehicle cheat by repeating longest night over a dn over I know of the Mac round exploit on Sword base...This must b e something different.

    I wasn't aware there were any ways to redo a challenge. Good riddance, it gives a bad rep to us honest blaggers.

  • Max_Powers #10 2 years ago

    I agree with JahB; no one is getting banned here and the headline is misleading. Banning is generally meant, banning from playing the game not a 1-day 'no credit earning' punishment.

  • miiiguel #11 2 years ago

    @shinesevens: what you saying makes no sense. What these guys are doing is breaking the system, is like you saying that you don't mind that everyone starts making fake money. You might want to be on your own, but if that's the case, unplugh your 360.

    Regarding the complains bout the "sensasionalist headlines", I mean... it's getting ridiculous, I think some of you just comment to whine. It was Bungie the one to use Banhammer, and you blame the writter. Ffs..., don't do it everytime, say something nice every now and then, otherwise the joke's on you.
    Edited by miiiguel at 02/10/10 @ 12:24

  • miiiguel #12 2 years ago

    @Earl: You're pretty!

  • kadooosh #13 2 years ago

    U guys need to chill the fuck out. Get over urselves

  • kadooosh #14 2 years ago

    Can't belive ppl care so much as to how something is written or what words are used... U know what they mean.

    Anyways have fun an be safe, scary world out there

  • deez #15 2 years ago

    Out of interest, why on earth would anyone want to get extra credits? I've finished the game, and as far as I can tell the credits just get you a different suit? People are restarting over and over to get that?

  • icematt12 #16 2 years ago

    Well, credit exploits should allow people to get the achievements regarding obtain a Captain rank and purchase something with the rank of Lt. Colonel quicker. Easily traceable exploit though i would imagine.

    +1 to the "it's not a ban" arguement

  • MasterNameless #17 2 years ago

    @deez

    There are armour effects I assume people want to cheat the system to buy, also some pretty funny 'voices' your character can have in firefight mode.

    The armour effects start at 200,000 credits for the Grunt birthday party 'cheering' and confetti when you die, there is also the 'pestilence' effect at 1,000,000 points, which gives your character flies and a green smelly cloud around your head, and the most expensive is 2,000,000 with a lightening effect.

    The general reward for a normal mulitplayer game is between 500 and 1500 per game, so it will take a very, very long time to earn enough for these effects, and therefore why you get the cheating scumbags trying to exploit the system.

  • sir_smooch #18 2 years ago

    Awesome news. All cheaters should be banned Especially online cheats and glitchers. Although sometimes offline sp cheats to make the game more fun are sometimes cool e.g like the old button sequence ones altering ingame objects or loss of gravity were fun :)

  • fisherpot #19 2 years ago

    I'm all for this as what fun do you get earning free credits? I know it's nice to get free things but it's not like you actually earned it! People who leave games early cos there team is not doing well in any game is so lame like the people who think there good at fifa or pro and when they start losing it then becomes time to pull out all the dirty challenges! Big respect to people who earn it the hard way and even if there are cheaters out there who are actually good at games in my opinion there never be better then the real game players!

  • Jacksie66 #20 2 years ago

    I fear that i may never see, my cataracts are blinding me..

  • zedzee #21 2 years ago

    Should the games industry now begin to think about creating an On-Line Gaming Charter & Law, that makes all developers follow the same rules (to punish cheaters) and to apply similar/same actions?

  • layleeloo #22 2 years ago

    GOOD! Although im not a Halo freak (although i did finish reach), I applaud any move like this, ;ike the same taken recently with Starcraft 2. What's wrong with people these days? Are you either than shit at games you cant get points by genuine means, or are you so much lacking in self worth you feel your life is only justified by a large xbox live score? Either way its pretty damn sad, its cheating and they should all be banned from playing the game all together, for life. This is too lenient!
    Edited by layleeloo at 02/10/10 @ 18:57

  • albinac #23 2 years ago

    cheatting is exactly that and no one should be aloud to do that because it cheappens the game and i for one loose interest in a game that is overrun with cheatters. i would love to buy the armour effects and when i do i will be very happy and proud of myself for doing it slowly but correctly.the end justifises the means. meaning that i care more about this game and i am willing to do it the way bungie meant for it to be done.

    if they repeat the action they should get a one month ban and if the re-offend they should get a lifetime ban from playing reach. remember reach, remember how it all began.

  • midnight_walker #24 2 years ago

    I don't have Reach, but someone posted that this is exclusively a single-player exploit - is this true? If so, then what's the problem? If it affects the MP experience, then fuck the cheaters but if it's strictly to level up in solo mode then so what? Who are they hurting?
    Edited by midnight_walker at 02/10/10 @ 20:07

  • alan_stealth #25 2 years ago

    ha no mum.
    but more importantly, no credits.
    (no fam)

  • TelexStar #26 2 years ago

    Don't get me wrong.... I hate cheating but honestly, this type of "cheating" really doesn't qualify imho. The credits do nothing to effect actual gameplay - i.e. they get no gaming advantage. It's no different to the millions of gamers boosting for XBL Achievements so I don't understand why Bungie are getting their knickers in a twist over people exploiting what's effectively a bug in the game code.

    Personally, I'd like to see Bungie's efforts spent on dealing with quiters who have a negative impact on the game. At present I believe the so-called punishment is a 15 minute ban from matchmaking. Frankly, that's a joke. I could go off and make a cup of tea in that.

    OR

    How about spending some of those hard earned sales $ fixing the regular and consistent lag in Firefight and campaign co-op?

    I'm not trying to troll. I just Bungie has it's priorities wrong here.

  • MasterOtogi #27 2 years ago

    cheatings is alive & well on XBL, PSN & PC
    So they don't use the XBL subscription fee for dedicated servers & obviously not to keep players from cheating.
    So what is it your paying for again besides "in network" chat, email & a friends list?

  • Gecks #28 2 years ago

    @MasterOtogi, what cheating is going on on XBL and how do you propose subscription fees could solve it?

  • davisorle #29 2 years ago

    Post deleted at 20:44:35 16-04-2012

  • WinterSnowblind #30 2 years ago

    Wow, some people here really don't know what they're talking about. They're not "banning people", period and they're not doing it because people have found a way to easily make money, infact, they've outright said they don't care if people are farming or using clever tricks to do so.

    The problem here is that people are outright cheating, using network manipulation to reset their daily challenges, allowing them to repeatedly complete them for multiple credit bonuses. And yes, it affects the multiplayer by given people equipment they shouldn't currently have access to. Cosmetic, yes, but it still sucks for those who've been playing fairly and slowly progressing.
    Edited by WinterSnowblind at 03/10/10 @ 10:27

  • Stu #31 2 years ago

    Anyone who spends their time cheating in order to rack up enough points to buy a new virtual helmet needs to urgently reappraise their life priorities.

  • Corben_Dallas #32 2 years ago

    Woot +1 to Bungie, the may be only extra armor and effects, but if they are difficult to get and take and fair amount of time to get, then if a kid thinks its cool just to short cut all this by hax then they should be banned, (1 day bans). the " ban" in this case is banning their hacked credits, gotten from an exploit. Bungie are right to protect their game from hackers.

    I want to see more of devs taking proactive action.

    Call of duty couldnt give a flying fuck about their Multi player environment, quit a game cause yur losing, back out, no penalty, want to use 10th lvl presitge hack...we have no problem with that, hack yur game profile and have an ingame name different to yur gamer Tag ... go right ahead. Activision could not give a fuck about their online 'equal playinf field'

    Anyone who uses Jtagged XBoxs, hacks on XB LIVE shoudl be banned from the server.

  • TelexStar #33 2 years ago

    @Corben Dallas: "I want to see more of devs taking proactive action. "

    Except it's *not* proactive action against cheaters when Bungie continue to have an apathetic attitude to the people who quit mid-game and ruin the session for everyone else. That's far more damaging to the MP experience than blagging yourself some extra credits.

    I'm not saying Bungie don't have a right to act against those people, but they should *first* be focusing on the real issues that have (lets be honest) plagued the franchise since Halo 2.

  • dahsif #34 2 years ago

    I clicked on this story because I believed the headline and thought that Bungie had banned 15000 users from it's servers...I read on only to realize they were not banned.
    Sensationalistic headline worthy of Kotaku. And I stopped visiting that blog because of the sensationalistic shit and yellow press tactics.

  • Cronan #35 2 years ago

    Misleading headline, please change. Did Wesley work for the News of the Screws before he came to Eurogamer?

  • Cronan #36 2 years ago

    @shinesevens Narked about losing all those credits?

  • kangarootoo #37 2 years ago

    "Wesley, you might wanna look up what a "ban" is. This is a stats wipe, nobody's getting banned, and you turn it into a completely incorrect sensationalist headline. Aka "lying"."

    And this got nearly 25 plus points?

    The difference between a ban and a stats wipe is hardly huge is it. The article states that players were BANNED from earning credits for 24 hours. If thats a not a type of ban, what is? The word ban even appeared in the quote that came from Bungie. Maybe you should email them as well and call them liars also. Best make sure their isn't a dictionary nearby while you do it though.

    And as for creating a sensationalist headline? Yeah, sensationalst for the 25 people out there that are anal enough to get irate over the difference between a ban and a stats wipe (even if, as in this case, there is no difference). For everyone else in the world, any differece that might exist is not worthy of comment, let alone hissy fitting anger.

    Sensationalist indeed. If that is what you consider to be a sensation, you must be easily excited. Perspective needed, desperately.


    Edit: just read more of this thread. Has the world gone mad? Is this some kind of Halo fever?
    Edited by kangarootoo at 04/10/10 @ 13:37

  • kangarootoo #38 2 years ago

    "I want to see more of devs taking proactive action"

    These aren't proactive measures, they are retroactive. Proactive would be to prevent the cheating in advance.

    /pedant post, soon to be buried in negs :)

  • wingZero21 #39 2 years ago

    cheat bans are awesome