A wave of Star Citizen cheater bans is currently underway, with additional sanctions potentially on the horizon, developer Cloud Imperium Games has announced. The newly announced move is characterized as a direct response to a recent rise in Star Citizen cheaters.
Like any game with PvP elements or even just a scoreboard of some kind, Star Citizen did not fly under the radar of cheaters. However, it also isn't—or wasn't—a game known for rampant cheating. The first reports suggesting cheating was on the upswing among players date back to early 2023, a decade following the game's early access debut.
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PostsIf the situation hasn't improved since then, it's about to, because CIG recently kicked off one of its largest Star Citizen cheater ban waves to date. Officially announced by Lead Community Manager Ulf Kurschner on July 8, the crackdown is framed as a direct response to an uptick in cheating that the developer has observed across the game. Kurschner credited Star Citizen player reports for helping identify offenders and thanked the community in the announcement, saying their contributions are “genuinely appreciated.”
How Are New Star Citizen Bans Being Handed Out?
CloseCIG is keeping the details of the ongoing ban wave close to the chest. This is not unusual when it comes to efforts to crack down on cheaters in popular video games, as disclosing how offenders are identified could aid cheat developers in creating more effective tools. As a result, the exact methods CIG is using to determine which players to ban remain unclear. One thing that Kurschner did confirm is that the crackdown has been underway for a while now, since the "recent" Star Citizen updates. More "enforcement actions" stemming from the same effort are likely to follow in the near future.
Did Star Citizen Change Its Stance on Modders?
Kurschner acknowledged that CIG has historically had a "relaxed" stance on the use of third-party tools to modify Star Citizen. This practice was meant to facilitate community projects that benefit the game via things like creative additions and localization. However, cheating has always been against the game's terms of service. This newly announced crackdown thus doesn't seem to be signaling CIG changing its stance on modders.
Regarding what prompted the effort, player testimonies suggest that the recent increase in cheaters has become a serious concern. In one early July 2025 report, a frustrated fan describes hacks so advanced that cheaters could loot other players’ inventories—stripping them of all possessions—without being nearby, simply by being on the same Star Citizen server. This reportedly prompted some high-spending players to avoid launching the game until the issue is resolved. More traditional cheats such as aimbots, wallhacks, god mode, no-clipping through objects, and physics manipulation have also been observed.
