The online security and privacy company Surfshark has released a study exploring which games have the most cheaters. The investigation used data from Google and YouTube to determine which multiplayer titles have the greatest risk of hacking and where it occurs most often.
Cheating is a factor in video games that many players have come to accept over the years. From looking at a friend's screen to using GameShark, methods can involve strategies ranging from benign to game breaking. As the industry has become more advanced, cheating is not as easy as it once was. However, this study shows that hacking still occurs in multiplayer titles that dominate the market.
Readers should know that Surfshark's study is based on YouTube hits for different forms of cheating. The top game by far is Fortnite, with 26,822,000 hits between aimbot and wallhack types of hacking. This is over twice the amount of the second place game, Overwatch, with 9,279,829 even after Blizzard removed aimbots from the title. Following up in third is Counter-Strike: Global Offensive thanks to 6,706,182 hits according to the study.
Other than that, most of the other games in the list like Call of Duty: Warzone, Destiny 2, and Apex Legends had similar results. Between the hacking methods, Surfshark found that aimbots account for double the amount than wallhacks. Over the 15 games from the findings, aimbot has 43,228,197 views in comparison to 26,340,664 for wallhacks. For those wondering where most of these hits originate, it looks like Sweden takes the crown. The country has the most cheating per capita, with 145 searches per million people.
This study gives some decent insight into the world of hacking throughout the gaming industry. Even with developers like Bungie and Riot partnering to combat cheating, it looks like the practice is still happening consistently. It is likely of little surprise that Fortnite is the top game in the list due to the massive popularity. However, the battle royale is no stranger to a multitude of cheats and glitches, so YouTube hits are going to be higher.
Some may call in to question the actual method utilized for the study. While YouTube hits are a way of tracking cheating, it is by no means a definitive representation. It is possible that the hit counts are higher because it is easier for pro players to cheat in games like Fortnite. Though, it is questionable that a big name title like Overwatch is still so plagued by cheats many years after launch. Hopefully Surfshark's study draws some attention to the problem and pushes the developers behind these games to improve the experience.
Source: Surfshark