In an interesting report over on PC Gamer today, it has been revealed that hack and aimbot subscription services - for games such as Counter-Strike and Battlefield - are said to be making millions of dollars from customers paying to have the edge in various competitive shooters.
In the report it states that one hack provider has confirmed that his company, which provides cheats for Counter-Strike amongst others, is estimated to make $1.25 million dollars a year from players paying for subscription upwards of $10.95 a month.
In the same article Tripwire's president, John Gibson, told the site that they often see a spike in hacks when a game goes on sale, illustrating that being banned on a game isn't necessarily a deterrent, and that the allure of winning (and, perhaps, winning in style) outweighs the financial implications of playing this way.
"We see a spike in hackers after we have a sale on one of our games. Their last 10 Steam accounts have been banned, and the game is on sale for $3, so they'll buy 10 copies for $30 on 10 different accounts and they'll keep cheating," said Gibson.
The article then goes on to offer insight into the mindset of hackers, as well as analysing the methods used by some developers to combat the problem. It's certainly an ongoing issue, and not one that's easily solved. When hacks are so readily available and the punishments lack consequence, is it such a surprise that so many people are cheating their way to victory?