The Hidden Costs of Cheating in Online Games

Cheating in online games comes with a price. In an earlier article, we talked about how cheating impacts game developers. Now, let’s switch gears and explore how it hurts gamers and affects the gaming community.

5 Costs of Cheating in Online Games

Cheating disrupts gameplay and creates a ripple across gaming communities. Let’s explore the ‘hidden costs’ below.

1. Community Fragmentation

Cheating in online games impacts the community spaces, whether it’s Discord, Reddit, Steam community discussions, Facebook posts, or other places where gamers gather.

What should be an area for discussing strategies, sharing experiences, and building camaraderie instead becomes a battleground. Complaints about cheating and arguments with other players create rifts that fragment the community. The conversation shifts from the shared enjoyment of playing the game to disputes over fairness.

As a result, players may find the community less inviting and supportive. The constant debate over cheating detracts from the conversation and erodes the sense of belonging that makes multiplayer gaming so enriching.

2. Loss of Trust in Developers/Publishers

When cheating becomes rampant, players may start to question the dedication of the game’s developers and publishers to maintaining a fair environment.

Trust is a cornerstone in the relationship between the gaming community and developers. Players expect a level playing field and consistent enforcement of rules.

When cheats go unchecked, it can signal that the developers don’t value the player’s experience or (at the very least) don’t have the knowledge, expertise, and technology to manage their games.

Beyond first-hand experience playing with a cheater, the discussion in the gaming community (discussed in #1 above) can further erode trust. When conversations among players, as well as influencers, content creators, and professional gamers, are dominated by instances of cheating, it amplifies the issue. These individuals often have significant sway over public opinion. If they voice concerns or frustrations regarding unchecked cheating, it can significantly influence the perception of the game and its developers.

The erosion of trust can lead to skepticism regarding future releases and updates.

Over time, this disillusionment may drive players away, seeking games with developers they can trust.

3. Devaluation of In-Game Purchases

In a game tainted by cheating, legitimate in-game purchases can appear futile.

Players who invest real money in skins, upgrades, or other boosts expect their investments to enhance their gaming experience. However, cheaters acquiring similar or superior items through cheating makes those purchases seem meaningless.

This discourages players from investing further in the game, feeling that their hard-earned money is being wasted. The sense of unfairness and financial frustration can turn a once-enjoyable experience into a source of regret. As players see their investments diminished by the unchecked presence of cheaters, there is little incentive to make future purchases.

Of course, we are speaking today about the costs of cheating for gamers and gaming communities. However, as we mentioned in our article, How Cheating Impacts Game Developers, the devaluation of in-game purchases can also result in financial fallout for the game studio. According to one study, 48.2% of revenue in online games comes from in-game purchases, so even a slight dip in trust can lead to significant financial loss.

4. Decrease in Player Satisfaction and Enjoyment

Gamers seek challenges, excitement, and fair competition in the games they play.

Cheating alters these fundamental dynamics, which can lead to a significant decline in player satisfaction.

When cheaters disrupt fair play, gamers often find themselves facing impossible odds. Who wants to spend more time dying and waiting to respawn than actually playing the game? The result is frustration and anger. The joy derived from fair competition is replaced by a sense of helplessness against cheaters.

Diminished enjoyment can transform the fun of playing a game into a source of stress. As a result, players may eventually abandon the game, seeking satisfaction and genuine competition elsewhere.

5. Abandonment and Player Attrition

The culmination of the other items on this list, including frustration and loss of trust, can drive players to abandon the game altogether. A decline in the active player base is a significant cost of cheating. Here are a few of the ripple effects of player attrition:
- Games (particularly multiplayer games) thrive via their communities. When players leave the game due to perceived unfairness, the community shrinks.
- The departure of frustrated players can discourage others and lead them to quit the game, too.
- Attrition can turn vibrant game servers into ghost towns. A smaller pool of players can lead to increased wait times for matches as frustrated players find themselves stuck in lengthy queues.

A Current Example: Cheating in Counter-Strike 2
A current example of a game that is experiencing the costs of cheating is Counter-Strike 2 (CS2), released on September 27, 2023.

The series predecessor, Counter-Strike Global Offensive (CSGO), has always been known for cheating “with hundreds of players — including pros — complaining about this issue daily” (PC Invasion). In studies that estimate cheating by analyzing Google and YouTube search volume, CSGO is in the top three games with the most cheaters.

With new features and a new anti-cheat system in place, gamers were expecting a better experience with CS2. However:
“… the cheating frequency remains the same in this new game as well, despite Valve issuing a warning to the cheaters on the very first day of the game. It did not take long before forums on Reddit or Steam started flooding with cheating reports.” (PC Invasion)

Indeed, there are ongoing discussions in the GlobalOffensive, Counter-Strike, and CS2 Reddit channels with gamers saying “the cheating is as bad as it’s ever been” and that the “current state of CS2 cheating is out of hands.” The discussion is also happening on Steam, with players arguing whether the cheating is (or is not) as bad as people are making it out to be and if the developers are (or are not) doing everything they can to create a fair playing field.

There have also been reports from influencers and professional players.
TimTheTatman reportedly caught the first cheater and hacker during the beta test of CS2. Meanwhile, professional player Robin “ropz” Kool has been very vocal on X (formerly Twitter) about the problem of cheating in CS2 and the developer’s need to address the problem immediately.

From the online discussion, it seems that CS2 is currently experiencing many of the costs of cheating in online games that we’ve discussed in this article, including community fragmentation, loss of trust, and frustration.
Will cheating have disastrous consequences for CS2? Only time will tell. CSGO still enjoys popularity despite cheating, and CS2 might be the same.

However, according to SteamCharts, the number of CS2 players has decreased, with 976,138 average players in September 2023 (when the game publicly launched) declining to 792,125 average players in October 2023 (an 18.85% decline).

So, What’s the Solution to Cheating in Online Games?
As mentioned in previous articles, we believe that the solution to cheating in online games is the implementation of robust, AI-driven anti-cheat technology. Such technology uses behavioral biometrics to understand how players interact while playing a game, observe patterns, and detect anomalies. Modern solutions like Anybrain can detect cheating with incredibly high accuracy and in real time, allowing developers to be proactive and stop cheating before it becomes a major issue.

But as a gamer yourself, perhaps you’re wondering what you can do to help stop cheating. We believe that addressing cheating requires a community-driven approach where anti-cheat providers like Anybrain work together with developers and gamers. In a future article, we will look at the role of gamers in combatting cheating. Stay tuned