Denuvo, one of the foremost authorities in anti-cheat and anti-tamper technologies for video games, is bringing anti-cheat to the PS5 console as part of the PlayStation 5 Tools and Middleware program. It’s inclusion in the program allows Denuvo to offer publishers and developers anti-cheat solutions on the PS5.
Cheating in multiplayer games can be frustrating for all players who simply want games to be fair and fun. While the issue traditionally plagues PC games a lot more than consoles, there are nevertheless some relentless bad actors who want to ruin the fun no matter which platform you are on.
In a survey from 2018, Denuvo parent company Irdeto found that 60% of players had felt the impacts of cheaters on multiple occasions in multiplayer games. 77% of those people said that running into players who were cheating tended to repel them away from the game, which in turn lowers the player base of honest players and causes people to not partake in in-game spending as much due to the lowered enjoyment.
Combatting cheating is a back and forth battle as anti-cheat companies attempt to thwart cheat manufacturers, who keep developing new ways to modify game files and code in order to give their customers an advantage.
Denuvo says that “a number of games” at the PS5 launch already incorporated its anti-cheat to successful ends. While Denuvo has faced some criticism for impacting the performance of PC games, that tends to be with it’s more intensive anti-tamper tools. On the PS5, it’s simply the non-intrusive anti-cheat, which the company says will not affect performance of games or the developers own workflow.
“Cheating ruins video games for honest players,” said Reinhard Blaukovitsch, Managing Director of Denuvo, Irdeto. “This can lead to lower engagement, game traffic and shrinking revenues for game publishers. We are really proud be able to help the world’s most talented developers to bring rich experiences for gamers on Playstation 5.”
Cross-platform play in particular has brought multiplayer cheating into the console consciousness a lot more than before. Call of Duty console players have taken to turning off cross-platform matchmaking entirely in order to avoid rampant cheating that occurs on PC. Multiple companies have taken strong stances against cheating, even pursuing legal action against cheat manufacturers.
