China’s market for gaming cheats tops US$293 million despite crackdown
- The country’s black market for cheats and hacks exploits popular titles such as League of Legends and Peacekeeper Elite, the Chinese version of PUBG Mobile
- Cheatware prices range from as high as US$450 to less than US$1, which helps vendors engage a broad group of consumers
Shenzhen-based Tencent, which runs the world’s largest video games business by revenue, presented that annual domestic market estimate for cheatware used in mobile and personal computer games at an online lecture series called “Guardian Program Salon” held on Tuesday, according to Chinese media reports.
Cheatware comes in different forms to give users unfair advantage in various games. Auto-aiming script, for example, can help a player see through covers and automatically lock onto enemies in a shooting game. A so-called traversal tool can help a gamer “fly” or walk through walls.
The size of China’s cheatware market is a testament to increased demand, despite the internet industry’s efforts to eliminate commercial access to this software and police action against local vendors.
Tencent did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Wednesday.