Respawn Responds To Apex Legends Players Being Hacked Mid-Game During Recent Tournament

Apex Legends developer Respawn Entertainment has released an official statement regarding the hacking incident that took place during last weekend's Apex Legends Global Series (ALGS) North American regional finals competition.

"Game and player security are our highest priorities, which is why we paused the competition to address the issue immediately," the developer said via a statement posted on Twitter. The North American regional finals were immediately postponed in the wake of the security breach, which saw two competitors suddenly gain access to cheats mid-match.

The attack started when DarkZero team member GenBurten (real name: Noyan Oskoze) mysteriously gained the ability to see enemy players through walls as the words "Apex hacking global series by Destroyer2009 & R4ndom" scrolled across his screen. Later, TSM's Phillip "ImperialHal" Dosen's gameplay was disrupted when he suddenly began aimbotting. Both competitors immediately spoke up, and the matches were postponed.

Though the cause of the incident has not yet been made clear, Epic Games recently made a statement quashing rumors that the game's anti-cheat program, Easy Anti-Cheat (EAC), has security vulnerabilities that allowed hackers to gain access to Oskoze and Dosen's PCs. As for Respawn, the studio says it's in the process of addressing the security breach.

"Our teams have deployed the first of a layered series of updates to protect the Apex Legends player community and create a secure experience for everyone," the Apex Legends developer said on Twitter. "Thank you for your patience."

The studio has not yet released any information on when the ALGS North American regional finals will continue.