Five of the Most Common Games Cheats

Video game cheats compromise fair competition and disrupt the experience of real players. Whether for fun, trolling or to gain an edge in competitive play, cheating is prevalent and has been since the dawn of gaming. This article investigates five of the most common games cheats, exploring their mechanics and impact as well as the ongoing battle against them. From aimbots to wallhacks, ghosting, speed hacks, and scripted macros, we explore the intricacies of these games cheats and the tactics employed by players and developers alike in an attempt to level the playing field.

In the past, games designers included cheat codes for ease of testing and player experimentation. Often these codes allowed for invulnerability, infinite ammo, or level select, giving testers a chance to try out different gameplay elements without having to get back to the title screen and start over again. But the rise of online multiplayer games and esports tournaments brought about a change in how cheats were perceived, especially with huge sums of prize money on the line for top competitors. With that in mind, modern developers are incentivized to program controllable environments that cannot be exploited by hackers.

While not all gamers are against using cheats, most prefer to play fair and win with their own skill. Cheating is often seen as an act of deception that is against the spirit of the game and can cause a player to lose faith in the developer, which could negatively impact revenue. As such, video game developers employ anti-cheat systems that are constantly updated and evolve to detect and punish those who are caught using unauthorized cheats.

One of the most common ways to cheat is by using software programs that run alongside a game and modify its memory block. These off-the-shelf programs are improving all the time and can be used by even casual gamers who don’t want to risk getting caught. This is often considered hacking but there are also instances where a player may not be injecting third party software but just asking for outside help to guide their decisions within the game. For example a Hearthstone pro was recently caught asking a friend for tips mid game, which is generally considered to be against the rules of the game.

There are still some cheats that can be used offline to enhance a single-player game’s experience, such as the ability to fast forward through story content and unlock extra characters. These modifications are not technically cheating because they do not violate the terms of service, but many players enjoy them to add an extra layer of challenge or enjoyment. However, some players use cheats in competitive online games to gain an unfair advantage which can lead to banning from the game and a bad reputation among other users. In some cases, these players can be prosecuted under traditional contract law and intellectual property frameworks. This is particularly true in esports where cheating can lead to large fines and damage the integrity of the sport.