(Un)Fair Play: Volume Two

It is estimated that cheating costs the video gaming industry ~$29 billion each year in lost revenue. This financial damage can be attributed to three distinct harms

• The loss of revenue from in-game stores: The fraudulent acquisition of in-game tools and digital assets prevents platforms from selling such digital goods through their in-game store. 
• Devaluation of digital assets: The sale of digital assets acquired fraudulently can see platforms undercut, and the digital assets they list devalued.
• Weakened player retention: The presence of users manipulating multiplayer games to gain an unfair advantage, harms legitimate player retention. The loss of these players could significantly harm the profitability of a game.

While the harm outlined is significant, platforms can counter this activity through targeted and proactive intelligence gathering. The cost of doing nothing, or reacting to each new exploitation as it occurs is severe—the activity attacks the abused platform’s business model and jeopardizes their market share. 

Key Findings:

This report demonstrates ActiveFence’s ability to assist in the prevention of this exploitative behavior. It will showcase our ability to identify threat actors, who perpetrate this damaging activity, and our capabilities to detect and research the novel software and cheat codes they offer.