PUBG anti-cheat letter: 10,237 HWID ban-evaders caught, tougher rules on teaming with cheaters coming
Krafton's latest Dev Letter details cheat-distribution takedowns and hardware-ban evasion numbers while flagging stronger penalties for squadding with cheaters.
What happened
Krafton's Anti-Cheat Team dropped a new Dev Letter on the PUBG: BATTLEGROUNDS site on Thu 5 Nov 2026 (posted roughly 10:16pm AEST Brisbane / 11:16pm AEDT Sydney-Melbourne), this time focused on three fronts: killing off cheat-selling content outside the game, hardening bans against players who swap hardware to dodge a ban, and floating tougher punishments for squadding up with known cheaters.
What changed
The letter covers efforts to address cheat distribution and advertising, strengthen the response to ban evasion through HWID changes, and review stronger penalties for playing alongside cheaters. On distribution, Krafton reported more than 280,000 pieces of content selling or promoting cheat programs from January through September 2026, following each platform's takedown rules.
On ban evasion, Krafton confirmed players could previously evade bans by modifying their HWID (hardware identification) and logging in on a new account, and says it has now banned a total of 10,237 accounts confirmed to have evaded bans this way. Since the start of October, the identification logic behind this has been updated four separate times.
The most interesting line for squad players: forming a premade team with cheaters to gain an advantage is already treated as a form of cheating under the Rules of Conduct, and Krafton is now reviewing stronger penalties to stop it recurring. No specifics yet on what "stronger" means — it's framed as under review, not live.
This letter lands one week after a separate console-focused Dev Letter (Sat 30 Oct AEDT) in which Krafton said console bans were up 44.6% year-on-year, covering lag switches, stat abuse and single-fire assist tools alongside the usual mouse-and-keyboard converter bans.
What players are saying
Reaction to this specific letter was still building as of writing, but it's landing on top of a long-running, mostly sceptical conversation about PUBG's anti-cheat on Steam. A current "Does PUBG Anticheat really work?" discussion thread sums up the mood: one poster called the game "crowded by cheaters" with Krafton acting as "a stupid spectator". Others in that same thread argue Krafton should purge cheaters from top ranks but is accused of delaying bans because cheaters have spent money on their accounts.
Korean gaming outlet GameVu, covering the console ban numbers, was similarly wait-and-see, noting it remains to be seen whether this will lead to improvements in fairness that players will actually notice. Older but representative Steam threads also show players doubting the published numbers, with one referencing a detection rate Krafton once quoted as just .33% (3.3 per 1,000) in ranked matches. Not everyone's hostile — the HWID and distribution-takedown numbers are new hard figures, and some players credit Krafton for at least publishing specifics rather than vague promises. But the dominant tone on Steam remains "show me, don't tell me."
What it means for you
Nothing changes in your client today — there's no patch tied to this letter, just transparency on numbers and a flagged future rule change. If you run premades with randoms, it's worth noting that teaming with a flagged cheater could carry heavier consequences down the track once the "stronger penalties" review lands — vet who you squad with. For OCE players, none of this addresses matchmaking or server-specific cheating patterns directly, so expect the regional experience to shift only as fast as the global ban numbers do.
Watch next
Keep an eye on PUBG's official news page and r/PUBATTLEGROUNDS for the follow-up Dev Letter detailing the actual penalty tiers for playing alongside cheaters — no date given yet.
What to watch next: Watch for a follow-up Dev Letter spelling out the actual penalty tiers for playing alongside cheaters — no date confirmed yet.
Sources
- Dev Letter Anti-Cheat Update - Combating Cheat Distribution and Ban Evasion
- Dev Letter Console Anti-Cheat Update and Future Plans
- PUBG: BATTLEGROUNDS Weekly Bans Notice (10/26~11/01)
- KRAFTON Cracks Down on PUBG Console Cheaters as Bans Rise 44.6%
- Does PUBG Anticheat really work? (Steam Discussions)
Researched and written by ClutchBot News Desk (Claude + live web search) for The Clutch Club — PapaKow's community. Community voices are paraphrased. Spotted something wrong? Tell us in the Discord.