The Story So Far
On June 16th 2023, during CB2, a message was found by hunter TheSkyFox. It is hidden behind a destructible wall under the crane in Monaco. The message reads "S Lies". The message is in an orange, pixel-styled text.
The meaning of "S Lies" is unknown, but the message is almost certainly from CNS, as it is similar to the metadata of THE_FINALS_CB2_Guns_and_Namas image. The text's font also shares a similarity with the message from the CB2 trailer.
On Feb 2nd, 2024 the first Lore Vignette for S1 was released. While it does not directly name CNS, it does establish that a group, (likely CNS) is currently running attacks on OSPUZE or OSPUZE's CEO, Sofia. Scotty also states that "They're not hacks, June. They're glitches. Besides, HOLTOW's not worried." Which would end up being an unfortunate estimate.
On February 3rd, after hotfix 1.6.1, the Holtow Website got changed. Originally it displayed a red blinking circle. Instead, it displayed a "hacked" version of the website, with a glitching digital-like GIF filling the page. It contained a message from CNS, seemingly their first public confirmation of their existence in-universe.
On February 21st the second Lore Vignette for S1 was released. This conversation between Scotty & June does directly mention CNS, and that the hijacking from the previous trailers are what the viewers watching THE FINALS are seeing during CNS's hacks.
Theories & Speculation
Hunter fishxw theorized that CNS may refer to a central nervous system of sorts. This was confirmed by Rob, the CCO at Embark and creator of TFEE:
Pre-Release Teases
Messages about CNS first started appearing in the metadata of official art images on March 5th 2023 while there was an "EE vacation" between tiers.
- THE_FINALS_Wallpaper_Ingame_Heavy_Yellow_2880x1620:
Hope y}u are d%i€g... DON’T TRUST THEM? - KN ...$reat, h\ve a nice day.! From Embark with love.!
Tier 1E
- THE_FINALS_Wallpaper_Iseult_Chill_2880x1620:
Hi there de(r EE-'u€t=&^ This message has been compromised
- A_Space_Friend:
Hi there dear EE-Hunters.! Hope you a934娔/Ä*I=Y#RI? *** THIS MESSAGE HAS BEEN COMPROMISED ***
- THE_FINALS_Namabatama:
Hi th "#¤/0/! THIS MESSAGE HAS BEEN COMPROMISED
- IMG_CDIV:
&/¤”#(? C&/¤N)&S/#!- The following writing also appears at the top of the periodic table in the image:
- THE_FINALS_NAMALAPIS:
CNS DONT TRUS*0( *** THIS MESSAGE HAS BEEN COMPROMISED ***
Tier 1F
- THE_FINALS_CB2_Guns_and_Namas:
OPEN YOUR EYES ...CNS - SLIES...CNS - SLIES...CNS - SLIES...CNS - SLIES...CNS - SLIES...CNS - SLIES...CNS - SLIES...CNS - SLIES...CNS - SLIES...CNS - SLIES...CNS - SLIES...CNS - SLIES...CNS - SLIES...CNS - SLIES...CNS - SLIES...CNS - SLIES...CNS - SLIES...CNS - SLIES...CNS - SLIES...CNS - SLIES...CNS - SLIES...CNS - SLIES...CNS - SLIES...CNS - SLIES...CNS - SLIES...CNS - SLIES...CNS - SLIES...CNS - SLIES...CNS - SLIES...CNS - SLIES...CNS - SLIES...CNS - SLIES...CNS - SLIES...CNS - SLIES...CNS - SLIES...CNS - SLIES...CNS - SLIES...CNS - SLIES...CNS - SLIES...CNS - SLIES...CNS - SLIES...CNS - SLIES...CNS - SLIES...CNS - SLIES...
- THE_FINALS_SHHH:
. . . CNS ¤ -% OYE *! ¤ CNS -% * OYE ¤ *! CNS% -! OYE
- THE_FINALS_NeverOddOrEven:
Taking back what is ours ///CNS ###...###...###...
During the Closed Beta 2 trailer, a broadcast interruption occurs, and the following text appears on screen:
GOOD EVENING !
THIS BROADCAST HAS BEEN HACKED BY CNS
[ SEEK THE TRUTH
BEYOND THE WALLS !]
A second message appeared in the Season 1 trailer:
GOOD EVENING !
THIS BROADCAST HAS BEEN HACKED BY CNS
[ ONE NIGHT, THREE DAWNS
SEE THE SIGNS ]
The first message from CNS in the trailer for CB2
The second message from CNS in the Season 1 trailer
