How Riot Games is Battling Video Game Hackers: Strategies and Solutions for a Fair Gaming Experience
Video game cheating has evolved from a niche hobby to a multi-million dollar industry, significantly impacting competitive gaming. With the rise of online gaming as a serious profession, many are seeking to gain an unfair advantage through cheats. In response, game developers have ramped up their efforts in creating robust anti-cheat systems to combat this growing issue.
The Rise of Cheating in Video Games
From the early days of gaming, enthusiasts have sought ways to exploit vulnerabilities, often leading to the creation of cheats. However, the advent of online competitive gaming has transformed this into a commercial endeavor, where cheats are sold for profit.
Anti-Cheat Measures in the Gaming Industry
As the cheating problem has escalated, game developers have had to strengthen their anti-cheat teams. These teams are dedicated to:
- Banning cheaters
- Neutralizing cheating software
- Pursuing cheat developers
One controversial approach is the deployment of kernel-level anti-cheat systems, which operate with high privileges in the operating system. This allows them to monitor the entire system where the game is played.
Vanguard: A Leading Anti-Cheat Solution
One of the most notable kernel-level anti-cheat systems is Vanguard, developed by Riot Games, known for popular titles like League of Legends and Valorant. Phillip Koskinas, Riot’s anti-cheat director, describes Vanguard as a system that “forces cheats to be visible.”
Impact of Vanguard on Cheating in Valorant
Thanks to Vanguard, Riot Games has been able to ban thousands of cheaters daily. Recent reports indicate that as of early 2025, the percentage of cheaters in Valorant ranked games has dropped to below 1% globally.
In an interview, Koskinas shared various strategies employed by the anti-cheat team, including:
- Utilizing security features in the Windows operating system
- Fingerprinting hardware used by cheaters
- Infiltrating cheating communities
- Employing psychological tactics to undermine cheat developers
Understanding Cheaters and Their Methods
Riot’s anti-cheat team doesn’t only focus on technology but also seeks to understand the psychology of cheaters. By cataloging threats and acquiring cheats through undercover operations, they can develop more effective countermeasures.
Some cheat developers try to market their products as “premium” cheats, often selling to a limited audience to avoid detection. These cheats can be expensive, selling for thousands of dollars, and are designed to maintain the reputation of being undetected.
Strategies to Discredit Cheaters
To combat these developers, Koskinas’s team employs several tactics, including:
- Publicly banning all players associated with a cheat
- Leaking information to expose cheat developers
By doing so, they aim to make cheaters appear foolish and damage the credibility of cheat developers.
Categories of Cheaters
Cheaters can generally be divided into two categories:
- Rage Cheaters: These individuals use easily detectable tools, often referred to as “download-a-ban” cheats.
- Premium Cheaters: This group utilizes sophisticated tools that are harder to detect, often involving specialized hardware for cheating.
Advanced Cheating Techniques
Some advanced cheats exploit hardware to gain an unfair advantage. For example, Direct Memory Access (DMA) cheats utilize specialized hardware to analyze game memory and provide real-time data to the cheater. Other methods include:
- Using HDMI fusers for enhanced visibility
- Employing screen readers to automate aiming (aimbots)
While these cheats can be difficult to detect, they often lack the human-like variability necessary to avoid detection in the long run.
The Future of Anti-Cheat Technology
Koskinas expresses concern about the potential use of AI in cheating, which could mimic human inputs and make detection even more challenging. Despite the risks associated with kernel-level anti-cheat systems, Riot plans to maintain its current approach to strengthen security against cheating.
Riot Games aims to be transparent about its anti-cheat methods, providing insights into their operations and ensuring gamers understand the measures taken to maintain fair play.
For more information on anti-cheat technologies and gaming integrity, you can visit Riot Games or check out related articles on TechCrunch.
