Cheating in eSports: Problems and Challenges

Cheating in competitive esports is pervasive. We present a study and discussion of challenges surrounding defenses against cheating with the intent to provide valuable information for game developers. In gaming, attackers (cheaters) have complete control over their system including software and hardware. This high attack surface is further compounded by resistance among users towards invasive solutions, privacy issues, and low tolerance for performance loss. Our discussion includes details of both attacks and defenses; how they work, what they are used for, and how users (both normal players and cheaters) interact with them. For attacks, we present a common example illustrating how an attacker can read, use, and modify arbitrary game data at runtime. For defenses, we discuss design principles and trade-offs in greater detail, providing an examination of the differences between types of defenses and the issues they create.