With the rise of competitive — and profitable — eSports comes the rise of cheating, with Irdeto research showing 61% of online gamers in the U.K. and Germany alone negatively impacted by cheating. To that end, Denuvo — an anti-piracy tech subsidiary of Irdeto — has joined the eSports Integrity Coalition (ESIC), with the goal of combating all forms of corruption and cheating in the world of competitive video gaming.
“eSports is a rapidly growing sector that generates a lot of excitement, and quite significant monetary prizes. You can easily see how cheating would have huge ramifications on both players and the industry,” Reinhard Blaukovitsch, managing director of Denuvo for Irdeto. “We must continue to combat cheating in both online multiplayer games and eSports, and our membership of ESIC is a symbol of our commitment to protecting legitimate players from the negative impact of cheating.”
Earlier this year, an Irdeto survey revealed that more than half of gamers in the U.K. and Germany have had their multiplayer gaming experience negatively impacted by cheating. The Irdeto Global Gaming Survey (which interviewed 9,436 consumers) also found most gamers in the U.K. (74%) and Germany (68%) are likely to stop playing multiplayer online games if cheating occurs. According to data from Juniper Research, consumption of eSports and streamed games will hit $3.5 billion in revenue by 2021, highlighting the fiscal impact cheating can have on the industry.
“It is always wonderful to welcome new members into the Coalition,” said eSports Integrity commissioner Ian Smith. “The addition of Denuvo will support our efforts to keep eSports safer against the threat of cheating, match manipulation and betting fraud.”
Denuvo will soon launch its anti-cheat technology as a full end-to-end solution, geared toward preventing hackers in multiplayer games from manipulating and distorting data and code.