How popular are cheats in Dota 2 and other online games? — research

According to data collected by Surfshark on the average number of cheat-related searches per 1,000 players per month, Dota 2 ranks only 11th among the most popular multiplayer games in this category. Only 1 in 1,000 users are interested in cheats for Valve's MOBA.

"MOBA games demonstrate the highest level of community integrity among gaming genres, averaging only 0.3 searches per 1,000 players for cheating-related content. This stands in contrast to Action games (40 per 1,000), Battle Royale games (28 per 1,000), and Shooter games (23 per 1,000)“, — reports Surfshark.

The authors of the study note that the low popularity of cheats in this genre is due to the need for quick decision-making and the presence of complex in-game mechanics, which make the use of standard ”hacks" technically impractical. Thus, the main features of MOBA games are in themselves an effective deterrent to the intention to use cheats.

The leaders in demand for dishonest software are shooters and Battle Royale games, where the use of cheats is more effective due to simpler gameplay. It is also worth noting that the difficulty of hacking a product does not affect the number of search queries related to cheats — Rocket League took second place in the ranking, despite being famously "hard to cheat" due to its server-authoritative physics.

“This high volume highlights a shift in cheater behavior: when traditional "speed" or "ball" hacks are technically impossible, interest migrates toward sophisticated AI-driven bots and prediction scripts.”

Surfshark warns users seeking to gain an unfair advantage that they are highly likely to fall victim to malicious actors. Games that are popular for hacking are an excellent platform for spreading malware, as cheats require antivirus software to be disabled and high-level permissions to be granted.

It should be noted that during the last “cleanup,” Valve blocked more than 75,000 accounts that were found to be involved in smurfing, rating manipulation, and other dishonest activities.

As CyberScore reported earlier, Dota 2 is the most complex online game according to ChatGPT.