Activision's Team RICOCHET security team has released data on the cheating industry: underground services such as cheats, boosting, hardware ID spoofing, and game account trading now have a total annual transaction volume of $8.5 billion.
Cheating has long plagued the Call of Duty series and the battle royale game Call of Duty: Warzone. Team RICOCHET states that cheat developers are actively leveraging generative AI, further complicating anti-cheat efforts.
Activision reports that sellers of违规 software have established a vast operational system, including resellers, subscription services, stolen account trading, and organized distribution networks. Recent analytical data shows that cheat subscriptions for just 15 popular games generate approximately $3.5 billion in annual revenue; when boosting, hardware ID spoofing, and game account sales are included, the total annual market size reaches $8.5 billion.
To combat this industry chain, Activision has shut down over 375 reseller operations, issued more than 80 formal warnings, and prompted 31 major违规 software vendors to cease operations.
Some cheat developers also fabricate excuses on social media to appease customers. Activision states that when cheats remain unusable for extended periods due to anti-cheat measures, developers sometimes cite reasons such as having a cold, undergoing surgery, or being involved in a traffic accident to explain the lack of updates, avoiding admission that the software has been successfully blocked.
The cost for cheaters is also rising, with some spending over $1,000 annually on cheats, ban-evasion tools, and alternate accounts. Activision emphasizes that once an account is banned, all these investments are lost.