Computer scientists have determined that multiplayer online gamers who have friends who cheat are more likely to become cheaters themselves. So likely, in fact, that the team behind a new study on the issue believes it can create an algorithm to identify them.
In other words, the new research demonstrated that cheating spreads through social circles just like an infection, affecting by proxy. Cheaters have great incentives to cheat, especially when they can actually make real money out of today's online games.
In time, they spoil other players' experience, so they either can only leave the game, or become cheaters themselves. The more interactions cheaters have with regular players, the more likely they are to influence the others in a negative manner,
Technology Review reports.
In an analysis of 12 million Steam accounts, experts found 700,000 cheaters, who were very likely to band together. They were less likely to be friends with a correct player than with a fellow cheater.
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