It was Game Over for what the Chinese authorities say was the largest gang of video game hackers in the world. Ten people have been arrested for selling cheating software for bestselling games, including Call of Duty and Overwatch.
Authorities confiscated $ 76 million, along with luxury cars and other goods from the alleged illicit enterprise.
Deception has become an epidemic in Sports, also known as competitive video games, as well as CBS News’ Lucy Craft report, this has made it fertile ground. hacking.
Serkan Toto, a video game analyst, said that fraudulent unions such as the one arrested in China and hackers have been operating for a long time.
“They are extremely professional. If you look at some of the site’s offerings, they have shopping carts, they have price lists, they have customer service,” Toto told CBS News. He compared the websites that hackers create and use with Amazon. “Some of these companies [are] raking millions and millions every month. And the scale is downright incredible in some cases, as are the profits. ”
China ‘s repression reveals the dark side of competitive video games, where top stars who play solo or in teams win seven figures.
Online games have caught so many eyes that it has become a political tool. Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez aired live on the Twitch game platform last year, while hundreds of thousands were awarded.
Japan has a whole dedicated hotel sports. The e-ZONe Hotel opened last year in the western Japanese city of Osaka. Manager Takahiro Shimamoto said most adult guests check in at the hotel on Fridays and play all weekend. Upstairs, sardine-like sunbeds bathed in arcade lighting are available.
Most people don’t have lightning reflexes, like professional players, part of what makes some cheat so irresistible. Instead of being crushed in competition, using tricks can give players a sharp goal and let them see through walls like Superman.
Sports lag behind in Japan compared to neighboring South Korea and China, where they have experienced astronomical growth, but online players are known to take shortcuts wherever they are.
“It simply came to our notice then [the hotel], I caught three cheaters, “Shimamoto said.
This year, it is estimated that almost half a billion fans will watch Esports. With revenues in excess of $ 1 billion, defeating the industry’s deceptive scourge will remain ahead and center.