Popular virtual platform VRChat implements anti-cheat feature, outrages users

The users of the virtual world platform are furious after a new feature has effectively banned tweaks including accessibility add-ons.

VRChat, a popular program that allows users to meet in digital chatrooms with custom-made avatars, recently announced the addition of anti-cheat features to the platform. This has the side-effect of breaking a lot of custom-made modsand customers of the program are furious.

The “Easy Anti-Cheat” platform is a standard anti-cheat tool built into many of the most popular games on today’s market, from Elden Ring to Fortnite. But for VRChat, a “game” that allows you to connect with users worldwide in digital chatrooms, Easy Anti-Cheat is a death knell.

VRChat helps people connect in digital rooms, but the recent addition of anti-cheat measures creates problems for many users. Picture: VRChat

VRChat previously would support custom-built modifications to its client, commonly referred to as “mods”. These mods ranged from personal preference tweaks, such as updated chat features and custom face and body tracking for specific avatars, to much more critical and important mods, such as the addition of closed captioning for deaf or hard-of-hearing players.

Easy Anti-Cheat eliminates all of that in the name of stopping hackers or malicious players. When the announcement was first made, VRChat users took to all forms of social media to voice their displeasure, and even “review-bombed” the game on Steam. Review-bombing is when a mass collective of people post negative reviews on Steam to warn users away from purchasing the product.

The removal of mod support has enraged many of VRChat’s users. Picture: VRChat

In response to the outpour of anger, VRChat posted a follow-up: “We are reprioritizing, reorganising, and changing our internal development road map to focus on the feedback you’ve given us.” However, continuing on, it added “Let’s follow that up with the hard part: we are going to be releasing this update, and we do not have plans or intent to revert or roll it back.”

Telling the unhappy customer base that they see them, they hear them, but they will still go ahead with the disliked changes did not sit well with the community. The review-bombing continues, while the campaign against VRChat rages on, with some users even stating that they’ll head to different platforms instead.

VR is new and relatively experimental technology with no shortage of news. A fan had created VR versions of huge games like Grand Theft Auto 5, but started receiving legal threats from the original creators.

Written by Junior Miyai on behalf of GLHF.