A few weeks ago, we reported on a new trend in Rocket League: Nexto, a bot designed for fun and learning, was being reconfigured by malicious actors and used for widespread cheating (opens in new tab). Numerous clips of players filming the bot in action exist, all of which show not only a very high ability to manipulate the ball, but also a suspicious tendency to stay on the ground most of the time.

At the time, Psyonix said it was "actively investigating a solution," but it appears that Nexto's time is up; in an update posted on the Rocket League subreddit, the studio posted a statement (opens in new tab).

"Earlier today, we took action against a number of accounts running bots on Rocket League. Psyonix said, "This banwave should cover the majority of accounts that have been using bots since bots first appeared in online matches in late 2022, and we will continue to monitor bots and take appropriate action against players/accounts using bots." stated.

They also added the option of "cheating" to the usual reasons for reporting other players, and that this is far from over: "We are taking steps to add an anti-cheat feature to Rocket League. This is in progress with our engineering team and we will provide more information as we get closer to implementation."

The studio is "silent" on the topic, but adds that it has been investigating the bots since they first appeared in late 2022; Psyonix "is always cautious about issues related to game security and competition integrity and is prepared to take action We are refraining from commenting until we are ready to take action."

The statement concludes by reiterating Rocket League's zero-tolerance approach to the use of bots in online play and asking anyone "interested in working directly with Psyonix on bot-related matters" to contact the studio.

As we stated last year, AI is not going away (open in new tab), and while Psyonix may have squashed enough of Nexto's bots (although we'll have to see how they play out in-game over the next few days to be sure), there will always be another. They may be the next frontier of cheating, or they may be the next step in creating more realistic and awesome bots for a good cause. But at least for now, Rocket League players can rest easy. What a save!