Riot now lets you enable its anti-cheat when you want to
The Verge
β’2026-06-24T13:00:00-04:00
π° What Happened
Riot Games announced that League of Legends and Valorant players can now switch the Vanguard anti-cheat software from always-on to "on demand" mode, provided they have the right hardware and opt into "pre-boot security mechanisms and Windows' own native protection features." The new feature, called "Vanguard Pre-Check," means the kernel-level driver will no longer launch at system startup and run constantly in the background. Instead, it will only activate when players launch a Riot game. This addresses long-standing privacy and performance concerns from the gaming community about kernel-level anti-cheat software having continuous system access. However, Riot warned that using on-demand mode may reduce security against cheating in competitive play.
π The Backstory
Riot Games introduced Vanguard in 2020 as a kernel-level anti-cheat system for Valorant, later bringing it to League of Legends. Kernel-level anti-cheat operates at the deepest level of the operating system, giving it extensive access to monitor system processes and detect cheating software. While effective at combating cheating, this approach drew criticism from privacy advocates and gamers concerned about security risks and system performance. Competitors like Valve's Counter-Strike 2 and Epic's Fortnite faced similar debates about their anti-cheat approaches. Riot's decision to offer an opt-in on-demand mode represents a compromise between competitive integrity and user privacy preferences.
π― Why It Matters
This move reflects the growing tension in the gaming industry between effective anti-cheat enforcement and user privacy/control. As kernel-level anti-cheat becomes more common, companies face pressure to balance security with user autonomy. Riot's approach β offering choice with clear trade-offs β could set a precedent for how other game developers handle this ongoing controversy.
Riot Games announced that League of Legends and Valorant players can now switch the Vanguard anti-cheat software from always-on to "on demand" mode, provided they have the right hardware and opt into "pre-boot security mechanisms and Windows' own native protection features." The new feature, called "Vanguard Pre-Check," means the kernel-level driver will no longer launch at system startup and run constantly in the background. Instead, it will only activate when players launch a Riot game. This addresses long-standing privacy and performance concerns from the gaming community about kernel-level anti-cheat software having continuous system access. However, Riot warned that using on-demand mode may reduce security against cheating in competitive play.
Riot Games introduced Vanguard in 2020 as a kernel-level anti-cheat system for Valorant, later bringing it to League of Legends. Kernel-level anti-cheat operates at the deepest level of the operating system, giving it extensive access to monitor system processes and detect cheating software. While effective at combating cheating, this approach drew criticism from privacy advocates and gamers concerned about security risks and system performance. Competitors like Valve's Counter-Strike 2 and Epic's Fortnite faced similar debates about their anti-cheat approaches. Riot's decision to offer an opt-in on-demand mode represents a compromise between competitive integrity and user privacy preferences.
This move reflects the growing tension in the gaming industry between effective anti-cheat enforcement and user privacy/control. As kernel-level anti-cheat becomes more common, companies face pressure to balance security with user autonomy. Riot's approach β offering choice with clear trade-offs β could set a precedent for how other game developers handle this ongoing controversy.