Some see it as a simple optimization accessory. Others recognize it as obvious cheating. The Cronus Zen, this small box sold for around €150, continues to be debated in competitive multiplayer games. And this time it’s Battlefield 6 who is in the line of sight. In recent days, several players have claimed to have been sanctioned for using this device, triggering a wave of reactions within the community.
EA gets tougher on Cronus Zen users
While Battlefield 6 has just been released, testimonies are already circulating on social networks mentioning bans imposed by Electronic Arts. One of them, particularly shared, shows a screenshot of a permanent ban screen attributed to the use of Cronus Zen. Although this image quickly circulated in the community, it could not be reliably verified. It could even have been modified, according to several attentive observers, in particular because of a visible inconsistency in the message interface.
But other signs suggest that EA has indeed launched a series of sanctions, at least temporary. Users of specialized forums claim to have been excluded, some momentarily, for having used the accessory. On Discord, a Cronus Zen-related script creator addressed his PC gaming community, specifically recommending that they pause use of the case in Battlefield 6 :
“We are currently recommending that all Battlefield 6 players — especially those on PC who are using Zen with our latest scripts — pause its use at this time. I and the team are actively testing to understand what is causing the issue and ensure everything remains safe and stable. Please avoid using Zen on Battlefield 6 until we confirm it is possible to resume.”
The same message contained an important instruction: “do not share or discuss bans publicly” so as not to draw attention to the community and disrupt the ongoing testing phases.
A device at the heart of controversy in the world of competitive gaming
The Cronus Zen is an accessory that fits between the controller (or keyboard/mouse) and the gaming machine, whether it is a PC or a console. It allows you to inject custom scripts capable of reducing weapon recoil, improving aiming or automating certain actions. Advantages considered unfair by the majority of players and which have transformed this tool into a symbol of hardware cheating.
In the case of Battlefield 6this situation seems particularly sensitive. On the one hand, EA has not expressed itself officially, maintaining a certain opacity on its anti-cheating policy specific to Cronus Zen. On the other hand, the developers themselves recognize that efforts are being made behind the scenes to stem the phenomenon. Last September, Christian Buhl, technical director of the Ripple Effect studio, claimed to have collaborated with Microsoft and Sony to improve the detection of these devices.
This in-depth work could explain the sudden appearance of sanctions in the days following the official release of the game, without prior communication from the publisher. But the results are still very partial, as evidenced by the discussions in the specialized Discord forums where some players say they continue to use their Cronus without being worried.
A divided community, a still unclear strategy
If some of the players welcome these first signals of firmness, the absence of public clarification from EA leaves the door open to all interpretations. The current situation, marked by selective bans and semi-official warnings on Discord, maintains a form of legal vagueness: the sanctions are real, but their framework is not.
It is also difficult to estimate at this stage the effectiveness of these first measures. Experience shows that script creators adapt quickly to each evolution of the anti-cheat system. In the case of Cronus Zen, the teams already seem to be working to circumvent the new protections of Battlefield 6 to continue using the tool without risk.
For EA, the question is now strategic: should we increase the number of bans to send a strong signal, at the risk of offending part of the community, or continue to move slowly to avoid an open war against Cronus users? In both cases, Battlefield 6 becomes the testing ground for a technical and moral struggle which is only just beginning.