Inside the Multimillion-Dollar Gray Market for Video Game Cheats

Summary

• Experts have found that 80 cheat websites are making between $12.8mand$73.2m from selling cheats for online games, through one-off sales and subscriptions.
• The analysis from the University of Birmingham found that the figure likely represents only a fraction of the cheat marketplace, not counting forums, Asian websites and those offering free cheats.
• The researchers also published findings on how robust anti-cheat systems are and how cheat economies operate.
• It was found that cheat-selling websites often look professional, complete with customer service representatives, and subscriptions to allow users to receive updates and ongoing support.
• Despite the formidable task of fighting cheating, games developers are constantly updating their anti-cheat software to stay one step ahead.
• It was also noted that kernel-levelanti-cheat systems provide robust defence against malware, which normal antivirus software often misses.

By Matt Burgess

Original Article