Call of Duty Tops List for Cheat Searches, Study Warns of Malware Risks

A new study by Surfshark has revealed that Call of Duty players show the highest interest in searching for cheats, with 66 queries per thousand users. This makes the franchise the leader in online searches for dishonest victory methods in multiplayer games, a fact that comes as no surprise to long-time fans familiar with the series' ongoing struggle with cheaters.

Following Call of Duty, the games with significant cheat search interest include Rocket League, Rainbow Six Siege (53 queries per 1000 users), and Marvel Rivals (45 queries). Interestingly, popular competitive titles like League of Legends, VALORANT, Dota 2, and Counter-Strike exhibit significantly lower interest in cheats (for instance, only 0.3 queries per 1000 players for League of Legends). Battle royale games such as PUBG (39), Apex Legends (25), and Fortnite (20) fall in the middle of the ranking.

Surfshark experts also issued a warning regarding the inherent dangers of using cheat software. Tomas Stamulis of Surfshark highlighted that these programs frequently demand elevated system privileges or require users to disable their antivirus software. This practice leaves devices vulnerable to various forms of malware, including remote access trojans and tools designed for data theft.

In response to the findings, Activision representatives urged caution against drawing hasty conclusions. They stated that the report primarily reflects search trends and does not necessarily indicate the actual number of cheaters active within their games. Activision believes that combating the problem effectively relies on robust anti-cheat systems and diligent player reports, rather than focusing on "sensational headlines."