51% of Game Studios Lose Money to Cheaters Amid Rising Costs

Fifty-one percent of studios face drops in player retention or revenue due to cheaters, and 88% of developers plan to increase their anti-cheat spending over the next 12 months.

Cheaters are becoming an increasingly severe problem for multiplayer games, affecting not only honest players but also studio financials. According to the study “The Rise of Cheating as a Service,” prepared by Anybrain based on a survey of 250 developers from the United States and the United Kingdom, 69% consider cheating to be a major problem.

Anybrain estimates that the global market for cheats has reached $8.5 billion. This figure includes the software itself, subscriptions, boosting, and in-game economy manipulation. Meanwhile, 45% of developers deal with security bypasses, 55% face technical problems with anti-cheat systems, and 31% have recorded false bans affecting fair players.

Currently, 93% of studios have dedicated teams to combat cheaters, and 92% of developers believe that cheating in games can be completely eliminated in the future.