Chinese police have arrested 10 people connected to a video game cheating ring that made an outrageous $100 million in profit.
Cheats never prosper, says an age-old proverb. Well the proof seems to most certainly be in the pudding after Chinese police successfully busted and closed one of the largest video game cheating operations the world has ever seen.
The criminals in question created and sold a variety of cheats to some of the most popular video games around, including big titles like Overwatch and Call of Duty Mobile.
For context, we’re not talking about codes that give your player a gigantic head. The kind of cheats this illegal organisation were selling are commonly known as ‘hacks’ which aim to break the game for those who use them. Hacks might allow a player to see others through walls or automatically shooting anybody who comes across their path. Simply put, hacks make games pretty shithouse for everybody else.
For reasons that completely escape us, the now-defunct cheating outfit was dubbed “Chicken Drumstick”. But don’t let the laughable name fool you. The gang managed to pop up in a bunch of countries and make some serious money as a result.
With subscriptions ranging from $10 a day to $200 a month, it’s no surprise that by the time police closed in, the group managed to net an astounding $100 million in revenue. According to the BBC, police also seized $60 million worth of assets, including luxury cars.
The police operation was aided by Chinese gaming giant Tencent, and led to the arrest of 10 people in connection with the ring.
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Cheating in video games is an increasing problem many developers are facing. Fortnite competitor Apex Legends, for example, was banning 1,000 cheaters a day at one point.
TL;DR: cheating is always bad news – unless you’re trying to spawn a jetpack in Grand Theft Auto.
You can read more about this topic over at the Gaming Observer.
