6 ms·

Would it be in a game company’s interest to implement anti-cheat for single player games? Mods and other forms of benign game hacking increase the popularity an

Would it be in a game company’s interest to implement anti-cheat for single player games? Mods and other forms of benign game hacking increase the popularity and longevity of games which presumably benefit profitability.

grp000 5y ago
I don't think it's a question of "would", it's a question of "why", since that's what's going on right now. You can point to single player paid cosmetics as a profiteering aspect. Greedy executives who care about short-term quarterly sales numbers for bonuses and stock influencing maybe aswell? I wouldn't consider myself knowledgeable of the game industry, but that's one of my bets.
krono 5y ago
EA and Rockstar banned people from Battlefield 5 multiplayer and GTA online for having modded their single player games. Google for a few minutes and you'll come across plenty of horror stories and news items. But of course the real reason they would love to prevent anyone from tampering with the game is so they can sell more single player cheats such as experience booster packs.
- maccard 5y ago
  They do? I googled it and it's full of "I accidentally left my mods on and connected to GTAO and got banned", not " I was banned for playing modded single player games"
  - krono 5y ago
    Yeah, listed some random hits for you below. I don't personally play either game, but from what I've come across on the subject over the years, publishers seem to be a lot less difficult about it today compared to a few years ago. I recall reading about them denying a ban was due to mod use when they were wrong, being ridiculously vague about what modding was and what wasn't allowed, refusing to fully restore a player's character even after a ban was rescinded, etc. https://www.pcgamer.com/gta-online-players-report-multiple-unfair-bans-following-latest-update/ https://www.pcgamer.com/gta-online-players-report-multiple-u... https://www.reddit.com/r/pcgaming/comments/g139nu/eas_volunteer_mods_are_banning_and_silencing/ https://www.reddit.com/r/pcgaming/comments/g139nu/eas_volunt... Interesting edge case: https://www.pcgamer.com/gtav-modders-reportedly-banned-for-creating-their-own-online-realm/ https://www.pcgamer.com/gtav-modders-reportedly-banned-for-c...
  - atatatat 5y ago
    If you leave a program running that you were using to make Michael's face into a school bus, in a perfect world that shouldn't be grounds to ban etc.
    - maccard 5y ago
      Unfortunately for you, that program is indistinguishable from one that replaces walls with transparent textures.
  - lobocinza 5y ago
    Yep. https://www.rockstargames.com/newswire/article/25o2411812k472/asked-answered-the-rockstar-editor-gta-online-updates https://www.rockstargames.com/newswire/article/25o2411812k47... Banning on single player would be silly. But GTAO is another story. It's designed as a cash farm. You have to grind missions, buy shark cards or use cheats. So as I understand they will ban anyone if they detect it's using mods/cheats. But GTA anti-cheat systems are weak and sessions are P2P or at least were.
- dijit 5y ago
  Both of those games have multiplayer components. I would be more interested to hear about games such as god of war or horizon zero dawn, which have no online play at all, used anti-cheat.

grp000 5y ago

I don't think it's a question of "would", it's a question of "why", since that's what's going on right now. You can point to single player paid cosmetics as a profiteering aspect. Greedy executives who care about short-term quarterly sales numbers for bonuses and stock influencing maybe aswell? I wouldn't consider myself knowledgeable of the game industry, but that's one of my bets.

krono 5y ago

EA and Rockstar banned people from Battlefield 5 multiplayer and GTA online for having modded their single player games. Google for a few minutes and you'll come across plenty of horror stories and news items. But of course the real reason they would love to prevent anyone from tampering with the game is so they can sell more single player cheats such as experience booster packs.

maccard 5y ago
They do? I googled it and it's full of "I accidentally left my mods on and connected to GTAO and got banned", not " I was banned for playing modded single player games"
- krono 5y ago
  Yeah, listed some random hits for you below. I don't personally play either game, but from what I've come across on the subject over the years, publishers seem to be a lot less difficult about it today compared to a few years ago. I recall reading about them denying a ban was due to mod use when they were wrong, being ridiculously vague about what modding was and what wasn't allowed, refusing to fully restore a player's character even after a ban was rescinded, etc. https://www.pcgamer.com/gta-online-players-report-multiple-unfair-bans-following-latest-update/ https://www.pcgamer.com/gta-online-players-report-multiple-u... https://www.reddit.com/r/pcgaming/comments/g139nu/eas_volunteer_mods_are_banning_and_silencing/ https://www.reddit.com/r/pcgaming/comments/g139nu/eas_volunt... Interesting edge case: https://www.pcgamer.com/gtav-modders-reportedly-banned-for-creating-their-own-online-realm/ https://www.pcgamer.com/gtav-modders-reportedly-banned-for-c...
- atatatat 5y ago
  If you leave a program running that you were using to make Michael's face into a school bus, in a perfect world that shouldn't be grounds to ban etc.
  - maccard 5y ago
    Unfortunately for you, that program is indistinguishable from one that replaces walls with transparent textures.
- lobocinza 5y ago
  Yep. https://www.rockstargames.com/newswire/article/25o2411812k472/asked-answered-the-rockstar-editor-gta-online-updates https://www.rockstargames.com/newswire/article/25o2411812k47... Banning on single player would be silly. But GTAO is another story. It's designed as a cash farm. You have to grind missions, buy shark cards or use cheats. So as I understand they will ban anyone if they detect it's using mods/cheats. But GTA anti-cheat systems are weak and sessions are P2P or at least were.
dijit 5y ago
Both of those games have multiplayer components. I would be more interested to hear about games such as god of war or horizon zero dawn, which have no online play at all, used anti-cheat.