A new study conducted by Surfshark has revealed that players of Call of Duty are the most frequent seekers of unfair advantages in games. The data indicates an average of 66 cheat-related search queries for every 1000 users, positioning the franchise at the forefront of multiplayer titles. For long-time players of the series, this statistic comes as no surprise, as the issue of cheaters in Call of Duty has been prevalent almost since the game’s online beginnings.
Rocket League secured the second spot. Other prominent games on the list include Rainbow Six Siege, with 53 search queries per 1000 users, and Marvel Rivals, with 45.
The research highlights a significant contrast between different game genre communities. While Call of Duty grapples with widespread interest in cheating tools, games like League of Legends show remarkably low figures, with only 0.3 searches per 1000 players. VALORANT, Dota 2, and Counter-Strike exhibit similar low rates. Popular battle royales fall in the mid-range: PUBG (39), Apex Legends (25), and Fortnite (20).
Experts caution that using cheats poses risks beyond undermining fair play. According to Surfshark representative Tomas Stabulis, such programs often demand elevated system permissions or require disabling antivirus software, thereby creating vulnerabilities for malicious software like remote access trojans and data-stealing tools.
Activision has urged for careful interpretation of the findings. A company spokesperson noted that the report only reflects search trends and not the actual number of cheaters on their servers. The publisher believes that “sensational headlines” are less effective in addressing the problem than robust anti-cheat systems and player reports.