The Alarming Truth About Cheating in Online Gaming
Cheating in online games is no longer a fringe problem – it’s a near-universal experience. According to PlaySafe ID’s newly released Gaming’s Cheating Crisis Report, 80% of gamers have encountered cheating, with more than half facing it at least a few times each month. Only 20% of players say they’ve never seen it.
Part of the problem is how easy it is to find instructions for bending – or breaking – the rules. Over half of gamers say they’ve stumbled across cheat guides on YouTube, with TikTok and gaming websites following closely. It makes no difference for fans of competitive shooters, sports titles, or even casual mobile games – no genre is safe.
“Eager to understand the reality, this study was commissioned to unpack the cheating crisis. Built on a survey of over 2,000 gamers, this whitepaper explores the real-world impact on gamers, revenue, and communities, and offers a clear path forward to rebuild trust and accountability, and most importantly, bring back what makes games fun – playing without cheating, where you know everyone is playing by the rules, and nobody has an unfair advantage,” said Andrew Wailes, founder and CEO of PlaySafe.
In a recent example, Battlefield 6 by EA is currently in Open Beta and according to a dedicated forum on EA’s website, roughly 330,000 attempts to cheat or tamper with anti-cheats have been detected and prevented by their anti-cheat software Javelin.
One Open Beta player going by the username The_Red_Patch in the EA forum was particularly frustrated with his experience: “I tried the beta, and it’s completely unplayable. Instant death to cheaters every time. I’ve cancelled my order, it’s already overrun with cheaters.”
The full version of Battlefield 6 will release on Oct. 10 this year on PlayStation 5, the Xbox Series X/S, and PC.
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The Toll on Player Enjoyment and Trust
Cheating does more than ruin a single match; it corrodes long-term trust. The report reveals that 42% of gamers have considered quitting a game entirely because of cheaters, with the UK showing an even higher rate at 45%. Once fairness is compromised, many players see little reason to stay engaged.
Worryingly, the temptation to fight fire with fire is real with 62% of players admitting they’ve felt tempted to cheat, and a quarter feeling this urge frequently or always. This “if you can’t beat them, join them” mentality risks creating a self-perpetuating cycle of dishonesty in online play.
“I hate cheating in games. So do all of my friends and everyone that I know. We’re all aware of the impact of cheating on a personal scale; It ruins the experience, and in my circle of relatively hardcore gamers, we’ve all quit games or stopped spending due to the effects of cheating,” Wailes said.
And yet, developers still have a window of opportunity. A remarkable 94% of players retain some level of trust that studios can deal with cheating effectively. This presents a clear opportunity for studios to rebuild credibility by delivering tangible anti-cheat results.
The Financial Damages of Cheating
The damage doesn’t stop at bad sportsmanship. Cheating is hitting the industry right where it hurts most: revenue. More than half of gamers (55%) have reduced or stopped their in-game spending because of it.
Players who spend between $11 and $50 per month – a vital revenue segment for many studios – are among the most affected. Over half in this group say they’ve reduced or stopped their spending due to cheating, with a third so dissatisfied they’ve considered quitting altogether.
Given the gaming industry’s reliance on microtransactions, subscriptions, and other in-game monetization, the scale of this loss cannot be ignored. Cheating is not just a threat to fair play – it’s a direct hit to the bottom line, draining resources from the very players studios depend on most.
Players Are Ready For Stronger Action
The report makes one thing clear: the majority of gamers are ready for change with 83% saying they would be more likely to play a game promoted as “cheater-free” with credible enforcement measures.
Support for identity verification is also strong. Nearly three-quarters (73%) of players would be happy to verify their identity to ensure a cheat-free environment. This indicates a willingness to balance privacy concerns with the benefits of a fairer playing field.
Additionally, 79% believe cheating penalties should carry over between different games, signaling demand for an industry-wide accountability system.
PlaySafe ID’s Proposed Solution
PlaySafe ID’s approach centers on breaking the ban-evasion cycle. Instead of banning single accounts, the system assigns each verified player one anonymized identity linked to all their games. If that player is caught cheating, botting, or violating safety rules, the penalty applies across every connected title.
By making it impossible to simply create a new account and return, the platform aims to restore genuine accountability to online play. The model also addresses safety concerns beyond cheating, including keeping predators and bad actors out of multiplayer spaces.
Wailes believes this kind of industry-wide approach is critical. “Gamers are ready,” he said. “The responsibility to address cheating now falls squarely on studios and developers with robust, effective, and most importantly transparent measures.”
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