How Cheating and Fraud Are Undermining Player Trust and Draining Game Revenue

From Frustration to Financial Ruin: The Compounding Impact of Cheating

It's a fact: cheating is no longer a fringe issue but a major business challenge. The impact extends far beyond a ruined match, affecting multiple departments within a studio. Here’s a look at how this problem compounds and what you can do about it.

1. The Perceptual Crisis: How Cheating Drives Player Churn

A game’s reputation is its lifeblood. Cheating can poison this reputation, and as Michael Roland of Scopley notes, "perception is typically reality" in this space. Even a small number of unchecked exploits can create a narrative that a game is rife with cheaters, leading to a loss of competitive integrity. This is a massive issue for player retention. According to the PlaySafe ID report,

42% of gamers have considered quitting a game entirely because of cheaters. The feeling of a ruined experience is so strong that players might just give up, thinking, "I'm just not very good at this game" or simply "move to the next game" because there are so many options available. This player churn directly impacts your long-term LiveOps strategy.

2. The Hidden Drain: Cheating’s Impact on Your P&L

Cheating's most direct financial impact hits where it hurts: the bottom line. Alon, CEO and founder of Quago, calls cheating and fraud a "business". It’s a multi-million dollar secondary market that siphons money directly away from your official in-game economy. A significant majority of players,

55%, have either reduced or stopped spending on in-game purchases because of cheating. This is especially damaging as it affects the "revenue backbone of studios," particularly players who spend $11–$50 per month.

The costs don’t stop there. As Alon explains, user acquisition (UA) is often the biggest line item on a P&L, and it's common for

20% to 30% of a UA budget to be wasted on bots and fake traffic. This is a cross-departmental problem, with costs spiraling into customer support for managing complaints and even server costs to serve cheating accounts.

3. Fighting Fire with Fire: Embracing AI for Anti-Cheat

The cheating landscape is constantly evolving, with techniques getting "more and more sophisticated every single day". The panelists described this as a "cat and mouse game". Today, the "mouse" is an "AI mouse", using tools like computer vision to automate gameplay and mimic human behavior. They've even progressed to using Direct Memory Access (DMA) and "pixel bots" to cheat from an entirely separate machine.

The solution, however, isn't just about matching their technology. The experts on the panel, including Nitith from Roblox, argued that focusing on player behavior is the "winning strategy". By detecting "behavioral anomalies," studios can catch cheaters regardless of the new exploit they're using. This is about building a "Turbo cat," as Alon puts it, to stay ahead of the curve.

“If you have a cheating problem, that means you're doing great. Your game is a hit. That's why people are coming to bot your game.” — Nitith, Roblox

4. The Path to a Fairer Future: Building Trust

For developers, the battle against cheating is winnable. The first step is to recognize that players want a solution. The PlaySafe ID report reveals that a massive

83% of gamers would be more likely to play a game that is credibly promoted as being cheat-free. And they're willing to embrace new technology to make it happen. According to the report,

73% of gamers would be happy to verify themselves in order to play without cheaters , and an overwhelming

79% believe that cheating penalties should apply across multiple games. This signals a clear demand for a unified, industry-wide approach to accountability.

Conclusion: Trust is the New Currency

For studio leaders and LiveOps teams, the message is clear: cheating isn't just a security issue; it’s a fundamental threat to your business. The cost of inaction is far greater than the investment required to build a robust anti-cheat strategy. As Nitith from Roblox and AC Ward from EA suggest, this investment should start early, during development, by baking in security and anti-cheat measures from day one. It’s about building a foundation of trust with your players by showing them you care, being transparent about your actions, and listening to their feedback. Because ultimately, when you protect your players from cheaters, you’re not just saving your game, you’re safeguarding your brand's reputation and your long-term revenue.

How are you making anti-cheat a priority in your product roadmap today?