Cheating is on the rise in multiplayer games, and it could spell disaster for competitive esports

Cheating is on the rise in gaming, especially in FPS games. Cheat sellers are finding new ways to exploit popular titles, while developers are exploring methods to catch cheaters before they even step foot in a match.

We’re going to walk multiplayer players through the current state of cheating in games like Call of Duty and how developers are taking steps to eliminate unfairness entirely.

Cheating in online gaming has been increasing over the past few years in popular games like Counter-Strike 2 and Rainbow Six Siege X. Competitive shooters have a particularly notable cheating problem, primarily due to aimbots and wall hacks. While many cheaters use specific software, others exploit in-game bugs to earn eliminations. Some gamers even join forces in solo matches to secure an unfair win, often referred to as teaming.

Free-to-play games increase the potential amount of cheaters in a lobby, and some older titles don’t receive regular anti-cheat updates. This has led to a high incidence of cheating in both modern titles and games released over the past few decades, such as older Call of Duty games.

An excerpt posted to the Ubisoft website from August 2025 highlights a nearly 30% increase in cheating since Siege X was released. Siege X’s June 2025 launch was also when the popular FPS became free-to-play, though the increase in players and advancement of cheating programs likely played the most direct role.

“Since the launch of Siege X, it’s clear that there has been a surge in cheater reports. The share of matches featuring players who receive 4 or more cheater reports within that single game has risen from an average of 1.8% to 2.5%. This spike is tied to the evolution of in-game exploits and the ongoing development of cheat programs. We know the impact that this has had on the enjoyment of the game for many and we are very actively working on solutions.”

AI-based cheating software has also made cheating worse in some games, so let’s dive into how everyday exploiters may impact the esports industry.

Over the last decade, multiplayer video games have begun to appeal to a much wider range of people, but increased cheating may turn gamers away from online play entirely. Players who repeatedly encounter cheaters in their matches will likely move on to other games, which might discourage fans from tuning into major tournaments, too.

Gamers don’t want to invest in a game as a player or a viewer when cheating is rampant and matches are fixed, so developers are beginning to introduce new methods of countering cheaters in 2025.

Video game publishers and developers are finding new ways to counter cheaters, including through the use of improved cheat detection software and the incorporation of AI into these systems.

Additionally, cheat developers and sellers have begun to face legal action. An example is EngineOwning, a cheat producer that gave over $14 million to Activision in May 2024 following a lawsuit.

While cheating has increased in recent years, some developers have made new efforts and have seen a reduction throughout 2025.

One such example of a concerted effort is Call of Duty’s RICOCHET program. According to the COD website, “RICOCHET Anti-Cheat uses both client and server-based systems to identify and address unfair play in real time. The PC kernel-level driver, developed internally for Call of Duty, helps detect unauthorized programs that interact with protected titles. These detections, combined with ongoing updates and analysis, allow the team to investigate and respond to cheating activity quickly and effectively.”

While discussing Black Ops 6 and Warzone in September 2025, the Call of Duty RICOCHET team revealed that “the number of Teamers in the Top 250 has consistently remained under 5% at any given time since we began our weekly purges, based on these new detections.”

Cheat detection is the key to banning users who take part in unfair practices, and it’ll get more accurate as developers put a greater focus on improving their systems.

As cheating continues to rise in online gaming, more and more players will look elsewhere for their daily play session. It’s no fun to be defeated by a bullet that went straight through the wall, so eliminating cheating to the greatest extent possible is a top priority for many development teams.

The fate of multiplayer gaming and esports hangs in the balance of the current generation. If video games are to grow more popular as a genre, then fairness is of paramount importance. Luckily, it looks like most developers are taking cheating very seriously, and new advancements in technology could be just what they need to eliminate cheating once and for all.