Have you been keeping up with the Call of Duty: WWII betas? You know, testing things out and seeing how the multiplayer works? If you have, you may have noticed a bit of an epidemic spreading. Hackers have already hit the game. These cheaters have wormed their way in, worked out a way to make things better for themselves with aimbots, teleporting, and means of upping their kill counts. It seems like a hopeless situation, right?
But then again, maybe things aren’t so bad. I mean, I’m not saying there aren’t hackers in Call of Duty: WWII’ s beta mucking things up. There are, and they aren’t being removed and addressed at a fast enough pace. But, maybe there’s a bright side to these activities happening here and now. Maybe we shouldn’t be looking at this as a portent of doom, but an opportunity.
First, think about the whole reason that these multiplayer betas exist. They aren’t here to give people a free trial of the game, though they do have that added bonus. Rather, companies release them to see how a game like Call of Duty: WWII performs in the wild. What is happening right now is exactly what Sledgehammer Games and Activision want to happen. This is the time to see what could go wrong in the game. That way, they can start hitting those trouble areas as development continues and hopefully release a stronger, final product. If hackers show themselves now and pull all these tricks, it allows the developer to see how the game is being exploited to allow them and perhaps prevent it from happening.
This being a beta brings up another good point. The damage being done by hackers now isn’t permanent. This is only a test. It will have no effect on your full Call of Duty: WWII experience or result in any (virtual) reputations being tarnished. These hackers are cheating with no real rewards. It’s more for the thrill of showing they can. While it can suck to see your test period ruined by people who aren’t playing right, there is some solace in knowing no real damage is being done. Rather, all that is happening is momentary discomfort. This too shall pass.
Finally, these betas can’t be trusted to be indicative of the final product. While the basic elements will remain the same, plenty of things change in the beta phase. Even between the first and second beta phases on consoles, there were differences. Point balancing was adjusted, color blind support was added, Bumper Jumper and other controller configurations are being added, and of course there will be nerfs and improvements. When something is a work-in-progress, you can’t point to a few bad, pre-launch experiences and call them indicative of the final product. You have to understand that the hackers who are able to implement their cheats now might have a much harder time doing so, if they are able to at all, during the final game. While they aren’t all being caught and booted now, companies are far more vigilant when it comes to the final product.
Hackers infiltrating the Call of Duty: WWII beta is a terrible thing. It definitely ruins the experience for people who are excited about the game and were essentially using the test as a demo. But, we should try to look on the bright side of things. Hackers were able to hop in because this is a beta, not a final product. Their prevalence means that Sledgehammer is getting data that could help make the final product stronger and more secure. Besides, this is only a test. The losses and unfortunate matches ruined by cheaters aren’t going to leave a real permanent scar. Let’s just hope that this means they’ll be thwarted in the full game.