Escape from Tarkov Sees 25,000 Bans This Year, With Only Half Being Traditional Cheaters

Battlestate Games recently shared insights into its ongoing battle against rule-breakers in Escape from Tarkov. In a detailed blog post, the developers reviewed their enforcement efforts for the first quarter of 2026, clarifying the various reasons behind player account suspensions.

From January through March 2026, approximately 25,000 accounts faced bans. Interestingly, just over half (54%) were penalized for direct use of cheats. The remaining 46% were sanctioned for other serious infractions, including real-money trading (RMT) of in-game items, employing bots for progression, and using various prohibited scripts and software.

The developers also addressed common misconceptions about their anti-cheating measures. They affirmed that bans are issued daily, and the overall number of compromised accounts and suspensions has steadily climbed since the game's launch. While acknowledging the potential for occasional erroneous bans, Battlestate Games emphasized significant improvements made to their cheat detection system over the past year.

Looking ahead, the studio intends to bolster the game's security by integrating advanced hardware-based protections like TPM 2.0 and Secure Boot, aiming to make cheating more difficult. They are also exploring the implementation of Windows security features such as VBS (Virtualization-based Security), IOMMU (Input/Output Memory Management Unit), and HVCI (Hypervisor-Enforced Code Integrity), which provide kernel-level system defenses.

Furthermore, the team is actively developing novel methods for identifying illicit players and refining their automated cheat detection systems. Battlestate Games likened the fight against dishonest players to a "cat and mouse game" but expressed determination to minimize the duration for which cheaters can operate undetected.