Column: Has EA Killed WRC With Latest Anti-cheat Update?

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In the latest EA Sports WRC update, 1.9.0, the new EA anti-cheat technology was added. Security issues and privacy violations have been listed as just two of the potential issues with this new mandatory anti-cheat update.

EA Sports WRC has been in hot water ever since the latest update dropped on PC. The update included the latest variant of EA's anti-cheat that ruins the online aspect of WRC for Steamdeck users and potentially compromises every PC that the game is installed on...

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Hyundai Rally1 WRC.

What is the new EA anti-cheat?​

The truth about the EA anti-cheat is that is it what is known as 'Kernel malware'. This virus is installed with an external program, like a video game, and gives the owner full access to a PC.

EA has specifically stated that the technology will be limited to just the anti-cheat abilities. Unfortunately, EA does not have a good track record with their invasive game updates. The security of the EA anti-cheat is also a huge risk. The program links all accounts together, so if a hacker gets in they will have access to any data they want.


Flocks of players are leaving and uninstalling the game because of this security risk. EA Sports has yet to remove this new invasion of privacy, but with players actively rioting on X, surely it is only a matter of time?

Is This a Security Risk?​

The short answer is, it could be. The power of this anti-cheat Facaded malware is that it latches onto your PC from its core. It has access to all of your files, folders and even website cookies and history. It could corrupt your files or even worse, your operating system. This would effectively write your PC off and everything on it as well.

EA have a history of weak coding protection protocols and an even worse reputation for general security. These breaches could have catastrophic consequences in a worst-case scenario. For a more detailed breakdown of this software, check out the video below.


So what is the fix? It is as simple as you are thinking. Revert the system and remove the kernel malware from the game and the player's PC. Nobody signed up to have this software installed on their computer when they bought the game, so EA needs to rethink its implementation of this anti-cheat software.

Broken Platforms and Features​

The other major impact this update has is on SteamDeck players. This new update completely breaks the game for those users. This new anti-cheat is a fully built-in house piece of software that replaces and removes the title's compatibility with anything that isn't Windows, like Linux and SteamOS for example.

The other big hit is for the VR players. VR was one of the flagship aspects of the game throughout its first few months. With a game as immersive and detailed as WRC, not fixing the VR issues is a massive slap in the face for those who play the game in that way.

We really want to hear from you, our community, about how this will affect your opinion of EA and their WRC game as a whole. Let us know in the comments below!
About author
Connor Minniss
Website Content Editor & Motorsport Photographer aiming to bring you the best of the best within the world of sim racing.

Comments

Premium
If you've got the storage space then yes, but remove any shortcuts you've got for WRC to prevent you from accidentally launching it.

Even if you do launch it I don't think you'll actually have any problems. Most of the complaints I've seen where people are having trouble is simply that the game won't launch correctly, or they get a crash to desktop, and the PC itself is not actually affected.
Thanks Slapped, most appreciated, simple & straightforward English, brilliant!
 
Premium
Well, your Steam account is certainly gone when you're doing a chargeback.


But you're doing the exact same thing whenever you're launching a program with admin rights on your PC...


You don't need to do anything. There is no security risk of relevance.
Thanks for your help, most appreciated
 
..I still don't get what's the exact issue here with the Anticheat when we had BattleEye and Easy Anti-Cheat (which are also kernel-level) for years and people seem to have seemingly almost no issues with them - why are we suddenly rioting against this one? Is it because it's EA specifically?
..though you know what, I think I'll pass on reading answers on this topic from now on. Not defending EA's track record, but I'm just puzzled.
Have a nice weekend everyone.
 
..I still don't get what's the exact issue here with the Anticheat when we had BattleEye and Easy Anti-Cheat (which are also kernel-level) for years and people seem to have seemingly almost no issues with them - why are we suddenly rioting against this one? Is it because it's EA specifically?
..though you know what, I think I'll pass on reading answers on this topic from now on. Not defending EA's track record, but I'm just puzzled.
Have a nice weekend everyone.

With certain games such as FPS and other highly competitive PvP genres anti-cheat is considered to a necessary evil, with people reluctantly accepting it, as allowing cheaters to run amok effectively ruins the game for everybody else. Although the efficacy of such anti-cheat systems remains highly questionable as it's well known that cheating with aimbots and wallhacks still commonly occurs in such games anyway.

With a game that is primarily a solo pursuit it's simply not needed - your experience with the game is not really affected. Also with a rally game such as WRC the very worst that can happen is that "DoNk3yDiCk69" sits atop of the time trial leader-boards with obviously fake times. Nobody cares, nobody's experience has been affected. With this in mind the anti-cheat at kernel level is perceived as way more invasive than it is useful, if it's considered useful at all.

This is why people are wondering about EA's motive for implementing an invasive kernel level anti-cheat system for a game that really doesn't need it, and questioning whether it is actually something else in reality.
 
..I still don't get what's the exact issue here with the Anticheat when we had BattleEye and Easy Anti-Cheat (which are also kernel-level) for years and people seem to have seemingly almost no issues with them - why are we suddenly rioting against this one? Is it because it's EA specifically?
..though you know what, I think I'll pass on reading answers on this topic from now on. Not defending EA's track record, but I'm just puzzled.
Have a nice weekend everyone.
Indeed, all of this is just geek drama about potential security breaches which have never happened and will probably never. And many simracers are playing on dedicated machines with no valuable data. This whole drama could give ideas to hackers, just for the fun ; this is quiet counterproductive as most users won't stop playing the game. What gaming history has shown is that most players surrender.
 
Indeed, all of this is just geek drama about potential security breaches which have never happened and will probably never. And many simracers are playing on dedicated machines with no valuable data. This whole drama could give ideas to hackers, just for the fun ; this is quiet counterproductive as most users won't stop playing the game. What gaming history has shown is that most players surrender.
Most players surrender? Isn't that a bad thing? How can we change that? Is it a geek drama or not? If it is a geek drama, why would you call it surrendering? Surrendering to nothing?
 
Premium
Indeed, all of this is just geek drama about potential security breaches which have never happened and will probably never. And many simracers are playing on dedicated machines with no valuable data. This whole drama could give ideas to hackers, just for the fun ; this is quiet counterproductive as most users won't stop playing the game. What gaming history has shown is that most players surrender.
Unless you consider the act of installing the kernel level software as being the security breach, which is further exuberated by a retrospective installation of the software which means the owner of the machine (irrespective of if you think they store data worth protecting) never got to choose whether to have it or not.

All this for a game where this anti-cheat doesn't apply to the way people cheat.

Lets stop defending it. They don't need community support to display arrogance to their customer base.
 
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I recently realised I still had the game installed. No longer - nothing but a bad experience since day 1 with this. Stuttering mess for months, which I only stuck with trying because Steam wouldn't allow a refund. Worst of the stuttering is gone, but the career mode is an absolute mess compared to DR2 and I can't control solo championships to my liking (ie, stop H2 class running 60th on the road), they removed the dailies and weeklies that kept my hooked to DR2 when time was limited... this EA-AC thing is the final straw - will chalk it up as a worse purchase than Dirt4, and that's saying something.

Please go back to make some new content for DR2 guys, that's a comparable masterpiece.
 
After waiting for some time i was ready to give EA WRC a try. But now I won't. There are other Rally games which are probably still better and I will happily give the money i saved to some RBR modders who actually care about what they release.

In general it's a real shame that we didn't get a decent rally game in 5 years. Dirt 2.0 and RBR are still unbeaten.
 
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Anything that installs anything anti cheat for single player is an uninstall for me, regardless of how it does it.
 
I have not touched it since they added this... And i dont think i ever will touch it again unless they remove it

Back to Dirt Rally 2.0 for me
everyone should stay away from ea games in general.lets see how nhl25 goes...endless laughs
 
EA already killed WRC for me due to it being an inferior rallying game compared to any other (due to it's state at launch, meh graphics, worse performance, flat and boring roads therefore stages, and poor VR support).

This new invasive anti-cheat being snuck in far beyond post-launch is just another nail in WRC's coffin that was already closed tight.
you didn't mention anything about the physics of rwd cars.. well I can say that a rwd car is not that hard to drive even at high speeds. strange grip, strange spins and strange game
 
Works fine for me, actually smoother than it used to be on my older PC. I've got thousands of games installed so probably all sorts of old dubious anti cheat protections
my copy works great too on ps5..and its has real physics..endless laughter
 
It is just a bad racing game/sim whatever it should be. I uninstalled it after 2 hours ..
You are better with Dirt Rally 2.0, WRC Generations or even Assetto Corsa with new rally physics.
EA killed it as they released it, not now. :D
 

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