Content ModerationVerified
Reviewed and published by trentmaziarz, April 22, 2026. Discovered and drafted by our automated research pipeline.
Riot Games deployed Vanguard, an anti-cheat system used in VALORANT and League of Legends, which uses machine learning to detect abnormal player behaviors such as aiming anomalies, suspicious movement patterns, and unauthorized software, and can issue automated bans.
Details
Vanguard operates as a kernel-level system that monitors gameplay in real time and analyzes player input patterns and in-game behavior to detect cheating software. Riot's anti-cheat team, led by Phillip Koskinas, has publicly described using behavioral analytics alongside traditional rule-based detection to identify cheaters. Reported bans from Vanguard include over 3.6 million Valorant accounts over four years. The system runs continuously in the background even when the game is not active.
Products affected
VALORANTLeague of Legends
Sources & Evidence
News Article
Cite this record
Trace Foundation. (2026). Riot Games: Riot Games deployed Vanguard, an anti-cheat system used in VALORANT and League of Legends, which uses machine learning to detect abnormal player behaviors such as aiming anomalies, suspicious movement patterns, and unauthorized software, and can issue automated bans (data as of 2026-04-22) [Data set record]. AI Trace. https://www.aitrace.org/r/practice/5f2a70fe-ca58-4dbb-b600-35f992fe30df. Accessed September 11, 2026.
- Stable link
- https://www.aitrace.org/r/practice/5f2a70fe-ca58-4dbb-b600-35f992fe30df
- Data as of
- April 22, 2026
- Last verified
- April 22, 2026
Other practices by Riot Games
Data AnalysisRiot Games uses deep reinforcement learning to help game designers analyze and test game balance in Legends of Runeterra before content is released to players, giving designers a tool to predict whether new cards or mechanics will be overpowered or underpowered.Customer SvcRiot Games deployed Blitzcrank Bot, an automated ticket-handling system for its Player Support operation, which classifies incoming support tickets and provides automated responses — particularly for account recovery requests — allowing players to opt out and request a human agent.ModerationRiot Games deployed an automated text evaluation system across League of Legends, VALORANT, and Wild Rift in November 2022 that uses machine learning models to assess player-reported chat messages and apply penalties such as mutes and bans for harmful, offensive, or inappropriate content.
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