This Cheating Software Is Bad News For Console Gamers
Cheating in video games has always been a problem, whether it's in a competitive shooter like "PUBG" or a quiz show online. PC gamers have usually had to deal with more cheaters than console gamers, simply because PC users have access to more game-altering mods and software. Consoles are much harder to cheat on because that control isn't there. However, it appears as though a new type of cheating software is looking to change that.
Twitter account AntiCheatPD, which specializes in "gathering intelligence on cheats to detect and disrupt cheating organizations," recently tweeted about "the next generation of cheating" making its way to consoles.
The account described the cheat as an "amplified" aim assist. According to AntiCheatPD, the cheat takes advantage of "machine learning" to automatically make your controller snap to where the target is located. There's nothing quite like playing "Warzone" and getting knocked out before you even have a chance to react. While PC gamers have been dealing with cheats like this for years, console players may find themselves utterly unprepared for this. To make matters worse, this software is apparently much harder for developers to find and patch up.
While some people are concerned about what this means for console games, others aren't so worried.
While it's not common, console cheating software does exist already
Some players have brought up that console cheats are more common than people realize. For instance, Twitter user @socalsnake brought up the fact that controller paddles have been around for years. Add-on paddles and triggers have been used by people to gain an edge in games, with user @GlcxkComa pointing out that some paddles can even eliminate recoil in shooting games. Even if a user isn't modding their game, paddles can occasionally offer an advantage to players, and not everyone agrees with their use in competitive play. Even so, that's not quite the same thing as installing a software that does all the aiming for you.
Another user, @TechGeekDB, argued that this new cheating software might not even be that helpful. They reasoned that the way the software was run — first through a PC, then through a console's streaming applications — would more than likely cause any games using the cheat to lag way too much to be useful. @TechGeekDB concluded that the cheat would ultimately be "pretty limited in value, even if the AI was perfect." Only time will tell, but one thing is for certain: cheaters are getting smarter.