Respawn Entertainment is a beloved developer, one mostly synonymous with multiplayer games like Titanfall and Apex Legends. Unfortunately, it doesn't have the best reputation when it comes to server issues and hacking and cheating. Of course, that in and of itself is a lot to unpack, as many online multiplayer games have frequent cheating issues, and it always seems there's little that can be done to stop those most persistent at it. Respawn is aware that Titanfall on PC, for example, has practically been unplayable for years due to hackers, and Apex Legends certainly has its fair share.

For those who follow the best Apex Legends players in the world, typically those competing in Ranked mode and have managed to hit Predator (top 500 in the world), this conversation around cheating occurs frequently. There's a debate to be had about those who make a big deal of the fact that they're cheating vs. those who are cheating secretly, but there's one name that has seemingly been terrorizing Predator players, Respawn, and more with constant hacking and cheating. That name is Tufi.

RELATED: Apex Legends Reworking Lifeline

Apex Legends: Who is Cheater Tufi?

If someone doesn't compete in the highest ranks of Apex, it's possible Tufi has never terrorized them, but the same cannot be said for names like ImperialHal, NRG Rogue, and more. Being a top tier streamer seemingly makes them Tufi's target, but the question becomes: who is Apex Legends' top hacker? There's a lot of tinfoil hat theories out there that have been passed around. Some think Tufi is a Respawn developer, some think that he is a cheat developer (to explain why he keeps getting away with it), and some think he is a some sort of internet cheating vigilante out to help Respawn improve its servers by hacking them himself.

In the words of J. Jonah Jameson, though, he's a menace to many. Some think that Tufi is better than players who hide the fact that their cheating, yet that's a conversation for another time. There are clips of players running into Tufi, with top tier players reacting differently. Some want Respawn to take him down, while others do try to take him out. Unfortunately, he appears in lobby after lobby and can be hard to take out due to the hacks.

There's not much concrete information on Tufi, of course. What fans know is that his usernames will also contain "Tufi" somehow and some way. In an interview with iLootGames about a month ago, a very other notable details are revealed. It seems Tufi got his start terrorizing European servers, it seems Tufi's native language is not English, and it seems that Tufi is not a cheat developer, just someone who is really good with them. It seems his motivation is, as a day one player of Apex Legends, is just for fun. Tufi implies the game is no longer fun without cheats, and that because of the high-profile nature of streamers, terrorizing them makes it even more fun.

Apex Legends: What is Cheater Tufi Doing to Terrorize High-Ranking/Predator Players

While the face behind the name is a huge mystery, what he does is not. Tufi employs several types of cheats, hacks, and glitches to do terrorize, manipulate, and otherwise ruin games. Most recently, the Apex Legends GLL Masters tournament was delayed due to an onslaught of DDOS attacks, and it seems the servers were just incapable of hosting a game. Tufi has seemingly and indirectly taken credit for such an act, with the above clip showing him directly messaging Shiv IN-GAME to mock the tournament just before the server shuts down.

Other times, perhaps more often, Tufi will load up a level 1 account, glitch into an Apex Predator Lobby, and use various aiming hacks to laser teams without resistance. Getting to the top 500 players in the world is by no means an easy feat, so encountering one player constantly who is using these cheats puts a lot of RP on the line. For some streamers, their skills in Apex Legends or streaming on Twitch are their livelihood, and what he does can directly impact that.

RELATED: Leaked Apex Legends Characters Who Would Be Perfect for Season 9

As such, many top-tier streamers have taken to asking Tufi for Mercy, submitting to him by bouncing up and down, and doing what he wants. That, of course, can be hard to tell some times, but for their own protection, high-profile Apex Legends streamers are forced to comply with a hacker. And that's just a couple of stories that have been floated around or shown in clips about Tufi.

Tufi, in the above interview, has noted that he has to be a bit sneaky with the hacks, as even with them, taking down teams like ImperialHal's and Rogue's are still quite the feat. Others actively try to avoid or fight him, oftentimes to their own defeat. One viral clip of Tufi's exploits has players abandoning a squadmate who said they can't do anything when "God" shows up, with the streamer proudly boasting 90 damage on Tufi and making him "Bleed." In short, wherever Tufi appears, no one is safe.

Why Hasn't Respawn Banned Him

respawn entertainment logo white background

Of course, with how notorious Tufi has become, the question becomes why Respawn hasn't intervened. In short, it has. Respawn has banned Tufi numerous times, with the figure making tons of accounts with just "Tufi" in the name somewhere. This means that Tufi is bypassing IP bans, hardware bans, and all sorts of protocol in-place to prevent cheating. Unfortunately, it's well-known that someone who REALLY wants to do it and who KNOWS how to do it well can bypass most cheat prevention tools across many games. This has only added to his status, adding to the rumors of how he continuously manages to mess with the game.

Perhaps, eventually, Respawn Entertainment or EA will be able to not just ban but permanently stop cheaters and hackers altogether. Respawn is aware of the issues and the targeting here, and fan can expect an announcement on how it will deal with this, hopefully soon. It remains to be seen if a new approach could work, as again Titanfall has had this issue for quite some time, but there's little doubt that many pro players would like to see Tufi's reign of terror brought to an end.

Apex Legends is available now for PC, PS4, Switch, and Xbox One.

MORE: Japanese Apex Legends Players Are Being Unfairly Banned Over a Common Word