Cheating in console gaming vs PC?

I am strictly a PC gamer at this point, and have been since 2013. Consoles over the course of their lifespan, and many years of paying for online services end up costing more for a lower performance system, and PC is always backwards compatible. However, I've had to stop playing competitive or PVP multiplayer stuff because cheating runs rampant.

Be it GTA V, CS:GO, PUBG, Halo, Warzone, Apex, ffs, even Fall Guys, it's getting to the point where it is nearly impossible to play more than a couple matches and not see blatant, overt cheating. And that's not including cheats that are no so good at disguising themselves with a certain rate of misses and other features to look like a real player at work that it's getting to be impossible to tell who's actually doing it anymore. Many of your top Twitch streamers do it on stream and it's almost impossible to tell unless one is dumb enough to leave their cheat app open on screen (which happens). It's made PVP online gaming virtually unplayable, and certainly unenjoyable.

For those of you on PS4, XB1, etc. How often does it happen on console? Is it that much more secure? Or do you guys deal with that crap as well? This is literally the only thing that has me considering a next gen console.

I used to see cheats last gen on console, but this gen the only time I've experienced cheats is when I'm forced to play pc players on warzone.

Yes ,you can buy a lagswitch....but I haven't experienced one since launch, and they get banned very quickly. Honestly the rampant cheating is the only thing stopping me buying a gaming pc.

Everyon cheats on consoles. in some games they all have auto aim and built in wallhack abilities :D

Console cheating is toned down cause if you're caught, your console id is banned and you can't go online.

Yeah it's true. If you want fair online gaming just get a console. I never thought that I would see the day when I will have to say that consoles are more adequate for online gaming than PC. The situation on PC with cheating is indeed dire.

Yes, there are more cheaters on PC due to the relatively more open nature PC has compared to consoles. The moment you allow consoles to have the option to cheat, you bet people will utilize it. It only seems like PC has a bunch of cheaters because of that. No matter where you go, there will always be cheaters. Cheater amount is relative to how open the platform is and I rarely play MP these days anyways. I'm in my 30's and MP just feels dull now depending on the game of course. I just play mostly single player games and its a reason why I love open-world games.

The same. I was so passionate about online in the past, but now I am more into good singleplayer experiences, spreadsheet RPGs, retro games, JRPGs and 4X Strategies. As a Senior Software Engineer in my late 30s, I am also starting to contemplate the possibility of developing my own game. Just to try, out of boredom lol I excel in coding, but suck in arts and drawing, but i can learn. I am exploring game engines rtn. I heard stories about one guy developing a game by himself. So PC will always be a main platform for me, not just for gaming but also work.

I've been playing more co op and retro stuff lately. I've had more fun playing through the classic Castlevania titles or co-oping some Grounded or Battletoads than playing competitive titles. Not that I wouldn't play a few once in a while if they were a bit more honest. I even started, but abruptly quit playing Fall Guys when I'd find other players running 5x faster than the maximum speed limit, and flying through the air.

PC does have a lot more games, but the more I think about it, the more those games do not require the latest, greatest hardware to play. Retro, and retro style stuff, I may play more city builders and new style platformers, but my RX590 can max all that out with no problem. So the type of games I may go for a new GPU on should actually be available on console as well.

So I was actually hoping console people had a similar experience with cheaters so I could easily rule out consoles as having anything to offer over PC... but it seems like that isn't the case and consoles really do have that over PC, which makes the decision of buying the next AMD GPU coming out later this year, or an Xbox Series X probably via all-access, that much harder.

Yep. If next gen consoles will provide 60 FPS as they promise, and both Xbox and PS5 support peripherals like mouse and keyboard for online shooters, then they are more adequate for online gaming than PC now. If you are into online, go console.

Theoretically, a console launch windows should be the best time to avoid cheating on consoles. They haven't had a chance to be cracked yet.

The PS4 is wide open at this point.

I can't speak to the frequency of encountering hackers on consoles. I don't really play those sorts of games, and certainly not on consoles.

The only multiplayer titles I play with random people are Souls games. I've encountered cheaters a few times, but it def doesn't define my experience.

Yea, it really sucks on PC. maybe not as bad as the TC says, some games I don't see them at all, others I'll see the odd hacker, but when it happens its really frustrating and it erodes your confidence that you are playing on a level playing field when you catch someone cheating.

probably the biggest advantage console gamers have over PC gamers (and one that is going to infect even consoles with the rise of cross-play games this gen)

Yes, with crossplay enabled in Rocket League I've encountered PC players cheating their asses off. Had to disable it. I remember thinking: "why can't we have an option for crossplay that excludes PC?".

When I play GTA online on PS4 I see cheaters all the time. Some are obvious, one guy took zero damage after being shot in the head 5 times.

That's nothing. GTA online on PC I've seen all cars blow up at once. Massive cargo ships spawning in the sky, sometimes a half dozen or more at a time. Last time I tried to play it, someone was changing the day/night cycles and even changing the color and lighting from the sky itself.

@eoten: Not shocking. That’s why consoles blocked cross play with PC.

At this point in gaming cheating is completely out of control. I play online multiplayer games more than anything else. The problem is that most newer online competitive games use skill based match making and if you are a legitimately good player you will at some point play against almost nothing but people cheating. It gets to the point where if you win 6-8 games in a row that you can expect the next 3-5 games to be filled with absolute trash. Now, I do understand SBMM... it makes the devs more money, so they likely won't remove it.

Let me explain that. A new player purchases a game like CoD Cold War 3 months after the game launch. That player gets into the game and is smacked around their first few matches. All of a sudden the player starts going into the positive numbers. Let's say 12 kills and 8 deaths after 3-4 games of going 3-12/5-9 so the player gains some confidence and is MUCH more likely to buy microtransactions. Things like colored weapon skins, character skins, emotes, etc. If that same player kept getting stomped on they would likely leave. So, it's a true dilemma... Do they remove SBMM so that the cheaters, good players, and not so good players are all in a lottery and it's luck of the draw, or do they keep SBMM and screw over legitimately good players looking for real competition?

My take on this issue is that there can be a way where both player bases can be accommodated for. Games like Warface have an awesome ranked system. If you want to play ranked you start at the bottom of the totem pole and have to work your way up. Rocket League is another game that has an awesome work your way up approach. SBMM wouldn't be so bad if it was tuned a lot better, but until they get it right I feel tier systems definitely work the best if they are going to keep the gap between players. Obviously my ultimate choice would be to remove gap play at all times OTHER than ranked tournament or tier based competition.

This was a problem that effected PC players a lot more than console players over the years, but with so many games featuring cross play, m/kb support, cheat dongles, cheat services, etc. it is nearly even these days.

There are a few ways to solve and slow down (possibly severely limit) the amount of cheating. 1. Great anti cheat systems and software in online games. (I truly believe that better ways can be discovered). 2. A report system and clip recording where players can report a cheater with video evidence (this actually wouldn't be all that difficult to implement and would show proof without shallow meaningless accusations.) 3. Cheaters get a one time warning and the 2nd time results in a COMPLETE IP ban for the game in question. Banning individual accounts does absolutely nothing since the vast majority of cheaters aren't using their main account and can simply make another new cheat account. 4. Remove lag compensation... Another bs device inserted into games to punish players with better internet connections. Don't get me wrong, making sure everyone is on an equal playing field seems like a good thing in theory but it simply doesn't work and all it winds up doing is masking people lagging on purpose to use it to cheat more secure and get away with it unchecked. This is one of the biggest ways that people have cheated for YEARS.. they use lag and force it on purpose to give themselves a huge advantage. Just take the damn lag comp out of the game and remove SBMM from non ranked tier based tournament or competitive gameplay.

Sorry for the book, but I have thought about this a lot over the years. It sucks being a player on the bubble of being at the top of legit play and all the cheaters since SBMM was introduced into online games. All it does is bounce you back and forth between fun and competitive games and playing against nothing but cheaters... sure, there are good games in-between but SBMM severely screws over players in our bracket and doesn't account for anything other than what will make the company more money. Oh yeah... while we're at it, remove bots from online play as well. If I wanted to play an offline game against the AI I would. If your game is dying either add more and make it better or move on.

Yeah. In fact, it's got to be losing companies who make these games some money. The fact GTA V being allowed to exist in the state that it's in is why I never wasted the money on any Rockstar products since.

Nice post Wit, I'm glad you brought up those cheat dongles because a ton of console players use those, and they typically go undetected most of the time. I've seen people using those with their controllers which makes semi auto guns fire at full auto without any delay.

I know that there can be a lot of cheaters on PC using scripts, and it IS annoying as shit when you encounter it; but lets not pretend that everyone on console is playing fair either. (not directed at you @WitIsWisdom)

All in all, We need devs & publishers to take harsher disciplinary action against it across the board. I liked the fact that whenever anyone was caught cheating in Apex, they banned hardware id's.

oh look, console users are bored again cause they dont have shit to play. whoop de doo.

@eoten: yeah MP on console has far less cheating, I game on both PC and Ps4 for MP (ps4 gets more play because I have more friends in that ecosystem anyway) but I and this group of friends are leaning towards going back to xbox, we all played together on 360 last gen

I plan on getting the series X tho a year or 2 down the road, no rush since my PC is more than capable. People say why get an xbox when i already have PC, but I like having a dedicated living room console for my TV, also I like the idea of having a singular profile and cross saves between PC and console. Oh the gf wants to watch her show, cool I'll go continue playing this at my desk.

Eh.

Cheaters are everywhere if you want to get technical about it, but yes, they are more prevalent on PC. Being the best platform does have some negatives.

Still the best though :D

PC multiplayer is far from "dire" as others have put it, however. I'd be more concerned about farmers, account selling, and so on.

Yeah I was into Warzone for a few months because of crossplay and friends, but now I have a hard time going back to it.

Kind of tired of multiplayer.

Yeah, I don't know. I also may just be getting tired of pvp multiplayer in general. Even without cheating, it's still toxic AF. Lots of people take some of these games WAY too seriously that it stops being fun. Many of them end up using the cheats because they're so obsessed with it that it borders on the psychotic. Maybe there are more reasons than just cheaters, or perhaps cheaters are just a symptom of a bigger problem with these games. I can still hop into many of the competitive FPS games and top score boards, but I just don't get the kind of enjoyment out of it anymore that others seem to.

@briguyb13: how do pc players cheat on Rocket League? honest question. i didn't realize that cheating can occur on RL

Unlimited rocket boost, lol. Coptering above others. I mean, I've seen great players make awesome moves in the air, and basically play on a higher level, but I'm totally unaware of never running out of boost power.

Modding is the benefit... but dealing with cheaters is the cost.

On the bright side, if you suck at pk'ing you can always blame it on those rascally cheaters!

@briguyb13: haha! i don't recall ever seeing that, but that's hilarious. i never paid attention to this. i will be very vigilant now... (as if it will make a difference)

@eoten: I get that, I go through phases where I'll be playing more SP, lately ive been playing alot more SP, THPS and Hades. But PvP always brings me back eventually, there is some sort of satisfaction of beating a real person in a game over fighting AI. I like to play fighting games like Tekken 7 and Fighter Z. I only use these games for thier MP. The games ive played the most MP this gen tho is Overwatch and COD MW, which is funny because its not even games I like a whole lot, but alot of my friends have these, so we squad up. In a way, even tho its PVP, its more of a CO OP vibe.

As long as there no incentives to curb online cheating, how can developers and publishers take harsher disciplinary action against cheaters? Using moral or ethical arguments will not convince them to curb online cheating as they are for-profit entities. The bottom line is more important to them than any moral or ethical argument on the "evils" of online cheating made by gamers who want to play fair. If online cheating affects the bottom line, then I can see action taken against online cheaters.

I always cheat when I game on PC, specifically the large open world games. For these offline games I really likes to mess around with cheats and mods. Games like Fallout, Assassin's Creed and Elder Scroll I just basically turn on cheat to get through the game cause I just could not be bothered to level grind or to "role play". Game is way too long for me, I just want to know the story and be done with it.

For consoles I wish we could, since I have that 50 hour Witcher 3 PS4 save file that I really want to continue play but just could not bother with the grind.

That damage control bro. Its a well known fact PC is the place for pirates and cheaters. PC is known as the Eddie Guerrero of the gaming scene lol.

But, but, open platform, online is free, well you can keep that shit as nobodies paying for online only for people cheat.

I come accross cheaters like once a month, if that. You're post is exaggerated, but depends on the game I guess. For example, Diablo III on consoles had far more cheaters due to easy duping via clientside.

Either way most people online game on PC, by far over any other system. It's the online bastion, or hub. Whether it be casual or hardcore. It's where all major online gaming communities exist and play. All the big tournaments. All the big events. It's where all the skill and esports is as well. Cheating cant' be that bad, or that just wouldn't be the case.

The only reason you experience cheaters once a month is because that's how many times you go to your cousins house to play on his PC.

As for E sports well the games are being played on privately run servers by organises and are not public ones lol.

Now you have lots of experience with mobile phone games, so how are the cheaters like on there? mr mobile phone gaming expert.

PC way more cheaters in my experience. It is what it is. If you can't beat em... You know how it goes.