Microsoft to implement new anti-cheat tech in its Windows 10 Fall Creators Update

While many were disappointed that Steam support for Windows Mixed Reality wasn’t pegged for the same release date as the Window 10 Fall Creators Update, gamers aren’t left high and dry with Microsoft’s sizeable autumn addition. The company is currently preparing to roll out two new technologies that comprise its upcoming anti-cheat platform.

TruePlay is the first of the two new bits of tech, which Microsoft states is aiming to provide a “new set of tools to combat cheating within their PC games.” This works in a similar way to the industry standard Valve Anti-Cheat (VAC) system.

The second piece of tech is called Game Monitor, in which the operating system corresponds with specific games to draw out cheating tools installed on the system directly, explains TechPowerUp. It’s forecast to potentially become a requirement for specific titles, particularly with multiplayer.

Unfortunately, many games will still have to rely on the VAC system alone as the TruePlay API is currently limited to titles on the Universal Windows Platform (UWP). While it is not confirmed that the same is true for Game Monitor, it is more than likely Microsoft’s intention to trial and build upon these new features on its own games before the idea of rolling it out to multiple platforms comes into discussion.

“A game enrolled in TruePlay will run in a protected process, which mitigates a class of common attacks. Additionally, a Windows service will monitor gaming sessions for behaviors and manipulations that are common in cheating scenarios. These data will be collected, and alerts will be generated only when cheating behavior appears to be occurring. To ensure and protect customer privacy while preventing false positives, these data are only shared with developers after processing has determined cheating is likely to have occurred.”

And for developers concerned over their game not requiring active game monitoring, Microsoft has that covered too. “TruePlay is not a “block on launch” experience—customers who have not opted into TruePlay's game monitoring are still able to launch protected games. Developers can then make decisions around which experiences are allowed from within their games. Whatever the decision, use the provided APIs to indicate to the system whether active game monitoring is required.”

The Windows Fall Creators Update is officially set to land on systems tomorrow, Tuesday October 17th.

KitGuru Says: Many seem concerned that this is another attempt for Microsoft to install monitoring software onto systems, or that the anti-cheat measures might cause potential dips in performance like previous attempts. Still, it’s good to see the company making an effort to quell cheaters which seem to be in more abundance than ever. What do you think about TruePlay and Game Monitor?

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