It has been five months since Rockstar Games introduced the anti-cheat software BattlEye to GTA Online, coinciding with GTA 5’s 11th anniversary. According to a new FiveM report, BattlEye was originally scheduled for release much earlier but was delayed due to unforeseen setbacks.

Initially, cheaters were unimpressed by BattlEye, as it was quickly bypassed on day one. Multiple mod menu developers promptly released updates to circumvent its restrictions. However, Rockstar and BattlEye responded swiftly, rolling out updates to patch these loopholes. As a result, cheaters now struggle to access public sessions with mod menus. If they do manage to join, they are often automatically removed or have their game forcefully crashed.

While not all cheaters have been eliminated from public sessions, only a few manage to slip through using private modifications and methods. However, most cheaters now refrain from exploiting the game due to the heightened risk of being banned. Its said that a BattlEye-enforced ban is a hardware ban (although some didn’t find themself HWID banned), and with ban waves following its integration which currently led more than 20.000 players banned, the fear of permanent exclusion has deterred many.

Recently, Rockstar publicly addressed the impact of BattlEye for the first time. In a community survey, they reported a “significant reduction” in cheating.

“We recently introduced BattlEye, an anti-cheat software that helps us identify and take action against cheaters. Since its introduction, we have observed a significant reduction in the level of cheating in GTA Online on PC.”

This change has heavily affected cheat menu developers, leading to the shutdown of several popular free mod menus due to the constant updates required to bypass BattlEye. One such menu, “YimMenu”, which was freely available on GitHub, was taken down by Rockstar’s parent company, Take-Two Interactive. However, the primary reason for its removal appeared to be the presence of illegal code from the GTA 5 source code leak rather than the cheating aspect.

Regarding paid mod menus, many have halted further development, while others are still searching for ways to bypass BattlEye. One of the most prominent paid mod menus even open-sourced its code on its Discord server but has since slowed done on support for BattlEye bypasses. Some cheat developers retaliated by DDoSing Rockstar’s authentication servers and BattlEye’s website a few months ago, causing service disruptions for several hours.

Surprisingly, most cheat developers have remained neutral about Rockstar’s crackdown, despite the fact that mod menu sales have generated millions of dollars annually. Many saw this as a natural ending point, considering GTA Online on PC is approaching its 10-year anniversary, and most have already profited fortunes. One of the largest cheat developers “Stand” shared their perspective with us:

“There will always be plenty of ways to inject despite BattlEye integration, but we’re starting to focus more on other projects. I think we’ve done quite enough in the GTA scene.”

While mod menus continue to struggle against BattlEye, cheat developers remain confident in finding new bypass methods.

“You can still play in public sessions. The only issue right now is when you’re not the host. For now, private BattlEye bypasses work well. Rockstar’s bans are still as infrequent as ever, so there’s no real risk—at least, not more than usual. But with BattlEye enabled, it can update at any time and ban you. It’s a high risk, and users will have to decide if they want to take it.”

When asked what motivated them to start developing their cheat menu, they stated that most menus are “boring and hardly worth considering.” This changed when cheat menus became commercialized and locked behind paywalls. In a peak month, they earned around “$100,000” USD. After BattlEye was introduced, their earnings dropped to less than half of that.

Thanks to the use of resellers and often living outside the USA, it has been difficult for Take-Two to track down the individuals behind these cheat menus and take legal action. However, in 2019, Take-Two successfully sued the creators of the “Evolve”  mod menu, seeking to recover at least $500,000 in damages.

BattlEye proved to be more effective than expected—perhaps too much so—as its ban waves inadvertently affected innocent players. In response, Rockstar quickly introduced ban appeals and updated its ban policy. Unfortunately, there was no solution for players on Linux, including those using the Steam Deck, since BattlEye is incompatible with the platform. As a result, Steam began offering refunds to affected users.

With the highly anticipated next-gen update for PC on the horizon—bringing “Expanded and Enhanced” features from the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S—we will soon see the true impact of BattlEye on the game. This update could be especially significant if Rockstar decides to bring the paid subscription service, GTA+, to PC. Rockstar has confirmed that the next-gen update will arrive early this year.

Through trial and error, BattlEye’s implementation in GTA Online should now be more refined. While it can’t completely eliminate cheaters, it is a step toward bringing the PC version and the future of GTA 6 and its online component closer in quality and care to its console counterparts.