Epic Games has officially implemented Easy Anti-Cheat as a requirement for playing Rocket League online. This move is designed to end the era of bots whizzing through high-rank matches and endlessly farming XP.

While the update includes an option to play offline without the software running, the impact on the community is significant. For many dedicated players, the arrival of Easy Anti-Cheat marks the definitive end of one of the game's most essential tools: Bakkesmod.

The End of the Bakkesmod Era

Because EAC does not play well with third-party modifications, the developer behind Bakkesmod has announced that the project is reaching a natural conclusion. For years, the mod has been an all-in-one solution for enhancing the Rocket League experience.

Bakkesmod provided a massive array of quality-of-life features, such as:

  • Automatic replay saves
  • Enhanced and varied training modes
  • Real-time match statistics
  • Access to fan-made items
  • Support for a wide range of community plugins

The creator noted the bittersweet nature of this transition, reflecting on the project's massive scale. "It is absolutely incredible to see how well liked and commonly used BakkesMod is to this day," writes Bakkes. "There have been over 800 published community submitted plugins in the last few years. Over 750,000 people use the mod on a daily basis, and over 1.5 million of you use it every week!"

However, with the introduction of Easy Anti-Cheat, Bakkes has decided to stop actively updating the mod. The team of core contributors has largely moved on from the game, making continued support unsustainable. Consequently, Bakkesmod will cease to function on any game versions released on or after April 28th. While older versions will remain available via GitHub, the project's Patreon is also closing.

Player Sentiment and Performance Impact

The community reaction on platforms like the Rocket League subreddit has been largely one of sadness. Some users have even expressed frustration, suggesting that Psyonix and Epic could have integrated many of Bakkesmod's most popular ideas directly into the game rather than forcing a shutdown.

There are also ongoing discussions regarding technical performance. While some players report issues they believe are linked to Easy Anti-Cheat, many others have noticed no impact at all. Initial testing with frame counters shows no discernible drops in performance or visual glitches during gameplay.

Despite the loss of the mod, the removal of bad actors is being celebrated by others. The crackdown on exploiters has immediately improved the competitive environment.

"It completely cleared out the win trading bots," writes user tbrockl337. "Which were making it difficult to get one fair game let alone two in a row... The game feels real and natural again. We should be thrilled. I certainly am."

While the arrival of the new anti-cheat has caused a small spike in negative reviews, this sentiment may not last. Given that Epic introduced these changes to fix specific, long-standing problems, it is highly unlikely the decision will be reversed.