The latest PUBG anti-cheat measure blocks “invasive” third-party tools, including ReShade

Cheating in PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds is a significant problem that’s been especially difficult to avoid with the game’s explosive success since the last few months of 2017. PUBG cheaters are getting banned left and right, but there’s been little way to eliminate the waves of players taking shortcuts to get those sweet chicken dinners. A new anti-cheat measure takes aim at third-party tools, but it appears the update will also take down some visual modifiers that were previously allowed.

That includes ReShade, a popular post-processing tool, has been used in PUBG since the early access days. PlayerUnknown himself said there was no issue with using the program, and that’s been backed up by other official notices as recently as last week. However, a new anti-cheat system is in development that specifically targets third-party programs which “modify the gameplay or visuals in an invasive way.” ReShade has been confirmed as one of the tools affected.

ReShade isn’t itself a cheating tool, though players have been considered that specifically designed shaders - say, a mod that turns enemy helmets neon pink so they can be spotted a mile a way - could provide an unfair advantage. Regardless, the tool does make modifications to the game itself, which makes it a target of the new update.

That update is to be applied on test servers to check out stability before moving to the live game, at which point ReShade and tools like it will be blocked. It seems unlikely players will face bans if ReShade is installed, considering the use of the term “blocked” and the fact the program has been unofficially supported for so long, but you may want to preemptively drop it before that update goes live.