Cheating in online video games has developed into a lucrative global business worth billions of dollars, with new research suggesting most multiplayer game developers now regard the problem as a serious threat to their games.

Activision’s Team Ricochet, which operates the anti-cheat systems protecting Call of Duty, has highlighted research from threat intelligence platform Intorqa estimating that the broader video game cheating economy is worth around US$8.5 billion (A$12.7 billion).

Intorqa analysed 15 games and estimated cheat developers themselves generate approximately US$3.5 billion (A$5.2 billion) in annual revenue. When related businesses including hardware spoofing and the sale of gaming accounts are included, the estimated value rises substantially.

Activision has been attempting to disrupt the businesses supplying these tools rather than relying solely on banning individual players.

The company said Team Ricochet has disrupted more than 375 reseller operations, issued more than 80 cease-and-desist demands and contributed to the closure of 31 major cheat vendors.

More than 70,000 additional hardware bans were also issued last month as part of Activision’s ongoing crackdown.

Anti-cheat technology company Anybrain has separately examined the growing commercialisation of cheating, describing the phenomenon as “Cheating as a Service”.

Anybrain CEO and co-founder André Pimenta Ribeiro said cheating had changed dramatically over the past three decades, with operators increasingly using technologies such as generative AI, real-time problem-solving systems, concealed hardware and digital identity spoofing to evade detection.

The company argues this creates an ongoing technological battle between cheat developers and game publishers, as new methods can be developed or modified in response to improvements in anti-cheat software.

The scale of the problem is also reflected in a survey commissioned by Anybrain and conducted by Atomik Research involving 250 developers in the US and UK who had launched competitive online multiplayer games.

It found 69 per cent of studios regarded cheating as a significant or very significant problem. More than half said cheating had produced measurable declines in player retention or resulted in lost revenue.

According to Anybrain, widespread cheating can damage player loyalty and reduce the lifetime value of a game as frustrated players move to competing titles perceived to offer a fairer experience.

The research found 76 per cent of respondents had introduced anti-cheat technology, with many using several different systems rather than relying on a single solution.

Among the 24 per cent without an anti-cheat system, 25 per cent said they had not found technology that worked effectively. Another 22 per cent cited concerns about community reaction or said they did not consider cheating a problem.

Of developers currently operating without anti-cheat protection, 69 per cent had never implemented such technology. The remaining 31 per cent had previously used anti-cheat systems before removing them because of performance problems, interference with game design or concerns about their effectiveness.

The issue is driving studios to dedicate more resources to security. Some 93 per cent of respondents said their studio had established a dedicated anti-cheat team, while 88 per cent planned to increase investment in the area during the next 12 months.

Among developers currently introducing anti-cheat technology, 47 per cent said the project had become possible after receiving a dedicated budget.

The findings suggest cheating is increasingly being treated as more than a player moderation problem. For major online games, combating a sophisticated commercial ecosystem of cheat developers, resellers and supporting services is becoming an ongoing security expense.