Throughout human history, in every competitive endeavor, there always seems to be a group of people who will stoop as low as they can to win. For whatever reason, fighting or competing somewhat isn't their cup of tea. This proven truth can be seen today in practically all aspects of human life involving competition. That multiplayer computer and video gaming is in no way excluded from this. Whether money, fame, or simply bragging rights is concerned, there will always be players who would instead take a shortcut to the top, no matter how hurtful or shameful it may be, then do it right with honor and honesty.

These people not only disrupt the given activity but deprive others (who are competing fairly) of their right to achieve what they have honestly worked for, be it work, gaming, or any other activity involved. Cheating is already wrong, but cheating on others to deprive them of fairness and equality for winning is unforgivable.

Effects of cheating

In light of this, multiplayer publishers and game developers have been working on ways to combat in-game cheating since they started appearing. However, monitoring many players connecting to a game server from all corners of the globe is challenging. Monitoring cheating in a centralized location like an eSports event or a multiplayer computer shop is not the same in an online environment.

To end this problem, gaming companies have created various means and ways to curb cheating. After all, they will inevitably lose their player base and loyal customers if these lowlives continue to impose their will. Cheaters are bad for customers, the gaming community, and businesses, so they must be stopped.

Cheaters and toxic undesirables

How have gaming companies dealt with cheaters?

Multiplayer anti-cheat features today have become a complicated affair. From detecting cheat hacks and scripts like Aimbot to outright barring the player from participating, finding out cheaters and throwing them off the game (temporarily or permanently) has become a time-consuming, if not costly, process. Unfortunately, at the current time, there seem to be no other alternative answers to the problem. Anti-cheat and toxicity software that now comes standard with the big-time games are installed on the client's computer along with the game. The effectiveness, however, isn't always 100% since, being an AI program, the security system can mistake other apps and instances not even involved with the game as possible tools and ways to cheat, thus barring a practically non-cheating player from playing.

An example of this is Valve's VAC security system. Since VAC was introduced, there have been many complaints in the CSGO and other Steam multiplayer platforms. Valve/Steam has seriously exerted much effort to support their loyal customers regarding the complaints and appease the true faultless. With both manual and software monitoring of player in-game activities, Steam has upheld itself as a strong, massive, and stable platform. However, not all multiplayer platforms do things the way Steam does. Some may be doing things similarly, and others may do them differently.

Anti-cheat systems today operate at what is known as the Kernel level of a client's operating system. Kernel or Core codes are the first OS programs loaded from the hard disc to RAM when you start (re-start) your computer. These controller codes act as the middleman between the drivers, application software (or anything you run), and the system. They are the system's command group running your PC. Online gaming anti-cheat interacts directly with and even influences the operation of the Kernel codes while the game is in session. That way, the anti-cheat can discover and block any hacker script being used to subvert the system and the game. This is the best way to root out whatever the undesirable players feed into their systems to fool the game server and stay ahead of everyone. Again, though this way of doing things is effective, it isn't 100% and has its drawbacks.

Most anti-cheat and toxicity security features like "Call of Duty Ricochet" are very similar to VAC, and although they operate at the Kernel level of the client's OS, they turn themselves off after the game. They only monitor suspicious scripts and hacks while the player is playing. This is good as, combined with machine learning, recording, player game analysis, and other stuff, the occurrences of cheating can be decreased and mitigated. The game's anti-cheat team should also continue to observe the gameplay as well manually. When these happen, the cheater can then be apprehended and dealt with justice.

The downsides of specific anti-cheat systems