Call of Duty developers have always been called out for not doing enough to protect players from cheaters. Activision and its development partners have been working hard to curb the problem, from hardware bans to behavior analytics, and permanently blocking the accounts of cheaters. A recent study shows the depth of the problem.
Cheaters use different tricks to gain an unfair advantage, ruining the experience for other players. The urge to cheat increases as the stakes rise from casual ranked games to major esports tournaments.
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Virtually all online multiplayer games have experienced their fair share of cheating. However, a new study from Surfshark shows that the problem is worse with shooter online games, followed by online multiplayer action games.
The Surfshark study analyzed global search volume data in February 2026 for cheating keywords like aimbot, wallhack, cheat, and hack for the 15 most popular online multiplayer video games.
The analysis shows that Call of Duty attracts the most searches intended for cheating, with an average of 66 searches per 1,000 players. Rocket League follows closely behind with 59 cheat-related searches per 1,000 players. Rainbow Six: Siege is third with 53 cheat-related searches per 1,000 players.
Multiplayer Online Battle Arena (MOBA) games have the most players with integrity. The study shows that it has an average of 0.3 cheating-related searches per 1,000 players.
According to the study, “The intricate decision-making processes inherent in MOBAs may render traditional “hacks” technically impractical, suggesting that game architecture and genre-specific mechanics effectively deter cheating intent”.
What other incentives do you think make multiplayer online game players cheat? Share your thoughts in the comment box below.
