The Lucrative Underworld of Online Game Cheats: A Comprehensive Analysis
I. The Cheat Landscape and its Economic Underpinnings
Online gaming cheat software encompasses a wide array of tools. These include programs enabling players to see opponents through walls, aimbots that can automatically lock onto other players, and utilities that can maximize characters’ stats. The realm of online game cheats is extensive, with numerous cheat websites promoting hacks for dozens of PC games. This phenomenon is fueled by an underground economy that purportedly generates millions of dollars annually.
Over the past two years, a team of computer scientists from the University of Birmingham in the UK has been engaged in a detailed analysis and mapping of the online cheat marketplace. Their research focuses on identifying behaviors that lead to players being banned from games and evaluating the efficacy of anti - cheat systems developed by game developers. The academics estimate that 80 cheat websites collectively generate between $12.8 million and $73.2 million per year, translating to approximately $1.1 million to $6.1 million per month.
II. The Cheat Economy and its Participants
“Significant profits can be made from selling cheats, and game companies stand to lose substantially if their games are perceived as rife with cheaters,” states Tom Chothia, a cybersecurity professor at the University of Birmingham. Last week, alongside assistant professor Marius Muench and PhD researcher Sam Collins, Chothia presented findings on the cheat economy and the robustness of anti - cheat systems at the Black Hat cybersecurity conference in Las Vegas.
The researchers estimate that, across the North American and European cheat - selling websites they analyzed, around 30,000 to 174,000 individuals may be purchasing cheats monthly. However, these figures likely represent an underestimate of the entire cheat ecosystem, as they exclude cheats bought from forums, Asian websites, and the number of people using free cheats. These estimates are largely in line with a previous projection of $100 million for the overall cheat economy.
The cheating community, consisting of both cheat developers and sellers, as well as those interested in purchasing and using cheats, is widespread across the web. In addition to dedicated cheat - selling websites, there are resellers, Discord communities, forums, smaller cheat - selling groups, and extensive marketing efforts aimed at bringing cheats to the attention of potential users. Cheats can operate either by injecting code into the game’s internal processes or by parsing on - screen activities and taking actions outside the game’s mechanics; the most advanced cheats may involve external hardware.
III. The Industrialization of Cheat - Selling Markets
In recent years, the markets for selling cheats have become increasingly industrialized. “They resemble well - crafted, professional online shops,” remarks Collins. Some cheat websites offer cheats for one - time use, while others charge recurring subscriptions, such as monthly or every 90 days. Subscriptions allow users to continue using cheat features, receive updates if the cheats stop working, and obtain support from the developers. Based on the academics’ analysis, which focused on software cheats and gathered data towards the end of 2023, the minimum price for a cheat across the 80 websites was $6.63, while the maximum was $254.28. Many subscriptions cost less than $100 per month, depending on the type.
Some of these websites have their own customer service processes and accept payments from a number of mainstream payment services. “The staff are quite professional,” Collins explains. “They may be brusque if they don’t like you, but they generally strive for professionalism.” The success of a cheat website hinges on whether the cheats actually work and, crucially, how long they remain effective. Sites often have “status” indicators to show whether a cheat is currently believed to be operational.
IV. The Tussle between Cheat Developers and Game Companies
This situation represents an ongoing struggle between cheat developers and game companies, which invest in developing anti - cheat software and curbing unethical behavior in their games. This sometimes includes legal action related to perceived copyright issues. “It's a legal gray area. In most countries, selling cheats is not illegal,” Chothia notes, highlighting that China and South Korea are among the few countries where using cheat software is considered a crime.
Andrew Hogan, co - founder of Intorqa, a games threat intelligence company that provides data on the cheat ecosystem to gaming companies, states that cheat developers are constantly evolving their cheats, making them more technically sophisticated and seeking ways to bypass anti - cheat systems. “Even the best cheats will eventually be detected,” Hogan says. “They don't have a long lifespan; often, they don't even last a week. But we observe cheat developers updating their cheats every one and a half days.”
Cheat sites often make bold claims. One site’s public web pages assert that it conducts “daily consistent testing” to ensure its cheats are still functional, claiming that its hacks “can be used without risk of bans for an extended period.” Another cheats website touts its hacks as “undetectable” and offers customization: “Tailor the cheats to fit your specific needs and play style.” Three cheat websites contacted by WIRED did not respond to interview requests or questions via email.
V. The Resurgence of Old Cheat Methods and Associated Risks
While cheats and anti - cheats are generally becoming more sophisticated, Hogan has observed a “resurgence” of an older cheat method known as pixelbots, now rebranded as AI - aimbots. These external cheats use computer vision to read on - screen activities and aim for the cheating player. “Developers can create them more easily and quickly using machine learning, AI, and object detection programs,” Hogan says, noting a recent surge in their use.
Over time, the persistent popularity of cheats and the associated financial incentives have attracted the attention of cybercriminals and scammers. In recent years, thousands of government and university websites worldwide have been hacked to promote Roblox and Fortnite “offers” that are actually used to spread malware and obtain personal information. Children attempting to cheat in Gorilla Tag, an ape - based chase game, have been found installing dubious VPNs that could hijack their internet traffic. However, the researchers’ analysis of 80 cheat - selling websites did not uncover any direct evidence of scams or malware, likely because these sites aim to make money and build a good reputation.
VI. The Move to the Kernel and its Implications
As the cheat and anti - cheat development battle has escalated in sophistication, both sides have ventured into the kernel, the core of a computer’s operating system. Deploying kernel drivers, which have high - level access at the deepest level of the OS, poses risks ranging from system - level crashes to potential privacy and security vulnerabilities. Granting unfettered control over a PC is inherently dangerous. For instance, Crowdstrike’s botched update last year, which crashed millions of computers globally, was possible due to its software having kernel access. Microsoft has announced plans to move antivirus products and endpoint detection and response (EDR) out of the kernel in the future.
In April, Elise Murphy, head of game security at Electronic Arts, wrote in a blog post that the company’s Javelin anti - cheat system has blocked 33 million cheating attempts since its launch in 2022. “The kernel is the deepest part of the operating system. If cheats operate from there while the anti - cheat does not, they can conceal their activities completely, leaving us with no chance to detect or prevent them,” Murphy wrote.
According to the University of Birmingham researchers, kernel - level access also makes anti - cheat systems extremely robust against cyberattacks. “One of our findings is that your laptop is perhaps safer when you are playing Fortnite; anti - cheat protection can safeguard you from a wide range of malware that normal antivirus may overlook,” Chothia says.
