As with any improbably popular game, Apex Legends has already seen an influx of cheaters. Respawn has stepped up efforts against those cheats with massive ban waves and an upcoming report feature, but those efforts haven’t quite stemmed the tide – and according to a new report, it’s all meant a lucrative business for cheat makers.
One such developer, identified in Kotaku’s feature as ‘Dev,’ says he’s made $5,000 dollars since he started selling cheats just four days ago – a claim that’s been corroborated by screenshots of payment information. Dev had previously worked on Fortnite cheats, but increasingly robust anti-cheat protections and Epic’s legal action against cheaters has caused many to jump over to Apex Legends.
Another cheat maker reports more modest earnings of $400 in a week, though there’s plenty of room for that number to grow with cheats sold through subscriptions. This developer, identified as ‘Adam,’ tells Kotaku Apex Legends is “really in demand right now” among cheat users. Advertisements for various cheats, players are shown racking up as many as 30 kills in a single game, or tracking enemies through smoke.
Even as Respawn continues banning cheat users, it’s difficult to enforce those bans – since Apex Legends is free, there’s little stopping players from simply signing up for a new account and starting all over.
But cheating problems aren’t limited to free games. Paid battle royale titles like PUBG continually note their ban waves, and more traditional shooters like Rainbow Six Siege are no exception.
Read more: Check out the best free games on PC
Check out our Apex Legends characters guide if you’re looking for some more legitimate ways of upping your game. Nothing can beat strategy and practice. Except an aimbot, I guess.