Hunt: Showdown – Crytek bans the use of ReShade

To start the weekend, developer Crytek has announced the imminent end for the ReShade tool in connection with the survival shooter Hunt: Showdown.
While the decision has been met with positive feedback from many, there are also critical voices.

What is the problem with using ReShade?

But first of all, what is ReShade anyway?
It’s a software that intervenes in the graphics options of games and allows adjustments.
Adjustments are possible in terms of color and saturation, contrast, sharpness, but also much more extensive changes.

The problem with this is that the software can also be abused to gain an advantage over other players.
Contrast and colors can be adjusted to make players see better, certain effects like the fog in the game can be turned off, the night is much brighter, or certain areas of the screen can be zoomed in on – even without the appropriate scope on the weapon.
In some cases, the filters even make everything in the game appear gray and only players shine bright white.

The topic came up again and again during the development of Hunt: Showdown, but there were never any definitive and reliable statements from Crytek.
This has now changed with the latest announcement.

Playing with ReShade soon no longer possible

However, instead of slapping all ReShade users on the wrist and possibly even banning them, Crytek is taking a different approach. Playing while using ReShade will simply no longer be possible.
Most likely, an error message from Easy Anti Cheat will then prevent you from doing so.

Therefore, the developers recommend removing the program as soon as possible in order to continue playing normally.

Mixed feedback from the community

While many players see the move as long overdue but positive progress, there are also some critical voices from the player community.

The main criticism is that ReShade bans an option that enabled some players to play the game in the first place, for example if they have poor eyesight or are color blind.
The announcement of a possible accessibility feature has thus far been searched for in vain.

Others criticize that they have simply made the game prettier and thus more attractive with ReShade than the somewhat aged engine of the game manages.
Especially the sharpening feature and the saturation are mentioned here.
Again, they miss options that could simply be standard in the game.

The last critical voices note that ReShade is at most a first step and other technologies, for example the NVIDIA Geforce overlay filters, should also be banned.

So far, Crytek has yet to provide feedback on these issues, as well as an exact date when ReShade will finally be banned from Hunt: Showdown.