Helldivers 2 is one of the hottest games of 2024 so far. The co-op shooter has well exceeded expectations for both Sony and developer Arrowhead Game Studios, with incredible sales, player counts, reviews, and public perception.
That doesn’t go to prove that the game doesn’t have its faults, though, and Helldivers 2 has a big one, namely in the anti-cheat software Arrowhead has opted to use, which has affected accessibility for disabled players. Fortunately, a fix will be on the way as per the game’s director.
Anti-cheat Restricts Assistive Systems For Disabled Players
Helldivers 2 uses a system called nProtect GameGuard to mitigate cheaters on PC. The anti-cheat software is made by a South Korean company named INCA, who also handle security for 70% of the stock market and 90% of online games in Korea.
Reliably secure it may seem, but there’s a snag with GameGuard. The software works at kernel level, which means it has access to your PC’s core systems. This level of deep-rooted functionality understandably makes some players feel uneasy, but throws up a far bigger problem for Helldivers 2 players who are disabled.
Steven Spohn, director of charity organization AbleGamers that helps gamers with disabilities, said he was “very disheartened” with Helldivers 2 in a recent tweet. As it turns out, he needs special assistive programs to play games, and nProtect GameGuard flagged them as cheats when he tried to boot up Helldivers, rendering him unable to play the game.
This isn’t the first time something like this has happened. Games like Escape from Tarkov and Fortnite sometimes make the mistake of thinking helper programs are cheats, but things are way trickier with nProtect GameGuard. Due to the nature of kernel-level functioning, cheaters can spoof their software as helper programs and bypass the anti-cheat.
Helldivers 2 Director Johan Pilestedt Responds
Arrowhead CEO and game director Jonathan Pilestedt responded to Spohn’s tweet, acknowledging the issue and pledging to look into it.
I will look into this. But I need to know what software you use. Also @ArrowheadGS and @helldivers
— Pilestedt (@Pilestedt) April 2, 2024
The issue is quite serious, as accessibility is a big focus for games these days, and Helldivers 2 locking out disabled players who need assistive technology to play does not fare well for its optics and reach. Arrowhead can’t ignore these concerns.
Thankfully, they seem to be on it, and judging by how Pilestedt asks Spohn to specify the software he uses, there may be a fix for that revolves around whitelisting certain programs in the nProtect GameGuard library.
It remains to be seen how they train GameGuard to tell the difference between real cheats and the tools players with disabilities depend on, but we hope the issue is mended as soon as possible. After all, no one should be excluded from spreading democracy.
