Sandbox Interactive Working with Tencent Cloud and Tencent ACE to strengthen Android security for Albion Online

• Tencent Cloud and Sandbox Interactive announced and formalised their partnership at Gamescom 2026.
• Albion Online will integrate the ACE Anti-Cheat Standard solution for Android to create a fairer, more secure environment for players.
• Sandbox selected ACE for Android after more than a year of technical evaluations, testing, and architectural alignment.
• This partnership marks an important milestone for ACE in the highly regulated European market.

At Gamescom 2026, Anti-Cheat Expert (ACE), Tencent Cloud, and Sandbox Interactive GmbH announced and formalised their partnership during a three-party signing ceremony.

Under the agreement, Sandbox Interactive's flagship sandbox MMORPG, Albion Online, will integrate the ACE Anti-Cheat Standard solution for Android to create a fairer and more secure competitive environment for its mobile players. The updated version featuring the new anti-cheat integration is scheduled to launch in the third quarter of 2026. 

Developed by Berlin-based Sandbox Interactive, Albion Online is a free-to-play sandbox MMORPG known for its fully player-driven economy and seamless cross-platform play across Windows, Mac, Linux, Android, Xbox Series X|S, and iOS. As the game's mobile player base continues to grow, Sandbox Interactive identified an opportunity to strengthen its anti-cheat measures further.

For an MMORPG built on competitive fairness and a player-driven economy, strong mobile security is essential to protect the player experience and support the game's long-term success. The integration of ACE Standard's server-side detection layer will provide the development team with broader, more resilient protection on Android and help safeguard the integrity of Albion Online's competitive gameplay and player-driven economy. 

Sandbox Interactive selected ACE Anti-Cheat Standard for Android after more than a year of rigorous technical evaluations, extensive testing, and architectural alignment. Moving beyond traditional client-only alternatives, this partnership deploys an all-encompassing security defence system spanning from the client side and server side to advanced code hardening.

By linking client-side telemetry with server-side validation, the solution creates a comprehensive and closed anti-cheat loop. In addition, ACE's ban-management API and real-time match admission data enable the game to implement more granular player assessment. This multi-layered approach delivers broader protection and greater resistance against tampering, helping to safeguard Albion Online's competitive integrity and player-driven economy. 

The collaboration began at Gamescom 2025, where technical experts from Sandbox Interactive attended a security session led by ACE specialists. At the time, the team was seeking a robust anti-cheat solution to protect the integrity of the Albion Online ecosystem. Following more than a year of intensive evaluation, ACE met Sandbox's technical criteria and demonstrated technical competency and responsive support throughout the integration process. 

"Competitive play is at the heart of Albion Online. With the implementation of ACE for Android, we're also improving our server-side anti-cheat protection to strengthen our efforts so far," said Jon Davis, Technical Director at Sandbox Interactive. "Improving cross-validation between the client and the server has long been a priority for us. ACE Anti-Cheat Standard delivered the coverage we were looking for, and Tencent's responsiveness throughout the integration helped make a complex, cross-border project run smoothly." 

Davis added: "ACE Standard delivered the server-side detection capabilities we were looking for, and Tencent's support throughout the project was exceptional. Responses typically arrived within minutes or hours rather than days, with engineers available throughout the months-long integration process to troubleshoot issues, share technical expertise and work closely with our team." 

Xander, Product Manager of Anti-Cheat Expert (ACE), said, "The video gaming security landscape is evolving rapidly with the focus shifting from isolated local defences to coordinated global protection. Anti-cheat is no longer a challenge for individual video games or platforms alone. It has become an industry-wide priority that is fundamental to maintaining player trust. Over the past 21 years, ACE has protected hundreds of video games worldwide, supporting hundreds of millions of players. The platform draws on experience gained from some of the world's most competitive titles to deliver proven, production-ready anti-cheat capabilities for global developers."

This partnership with Sandbox Interactive represents an important milestone for ACE in the highly regulated European market and demonstrates how advanced security solutions can support complex, long-running MMORPGs. By leveraging mature, third-party security infrastructure, developers can strengthen gameplay integrity while enabling their engineering teams to focus on creating new experiences for players. 

Fred Sun, General Manager of Tencent Cloud Europe, stated that, "Tencent Cloud is committed to helping video game developers around the world deliver fair, secure video gaming experiences. Through solutions such as ACE, we combine proven security capabilities with local compliance expertise to support developers at every stage of the video game lifecycle."

"We look forward to building on our collaboration with Sandbox Interactive and continuing to support video game studios across Europe with technologies and services that enable them to focus on creating great player experiences."

The signing ceremony at Gamescom 2026 marks the official launch of the partnership, with the full security integration set to go live globally in the third quarter of 2026.