In a game, a cheater uses software or exploits to gain an unfair advantage. Aimbots snap to heads. Wallhacks show enemies through walls. Speed hacks make you run faster. Cheaters ruin the experience. They win without skill. They drive honest players away. Anti-cheat systems fight them. The battle never ends.

The word is old. It comes from "cheat," meaning to deceive or defraud. In gaming, the deception is technical. But not all cheating is software. Exploiting a map bug is cheating. Teaming with an enemy in a solo game is cheating. Boosting is cheating in some games. The line is defined by the rules. If the game says it is cheating, it is.

Common cheats

• Aimbot: automatically aims at enemies.
• Wallhack: see enemies through walls.
• Triggerbot: fires automatically when crosshair is on an enemy.
• Macro: automates a sequence of inputs.

Cheaters are not always malicious. Some are curious. Some are desperate to win. Some sell accounts. The motivations vary. The impact is the same. A cheater in a match makes the game pointless. The win feels empty. The loss feels unfair. The community suffers. That is why cheaters are banned. That is why the word is an insult.