A new survey has suggested that the majority of players would be willing to verify their identity online if it meant being able to play games in a cheat-free environment.
The 2025 study, carried out by PlaySafe ID, polled over 2,000 people in the US and UK. The report found that 73% of players would accept an identity verification process to ensure matches are free of cheaters.
The same study found that 80% have encountered cheating in online titles, and 55% have either reduced or completely stopped spending on in-game purchases because of it.
The results come during a time of renewed conversation around the prevalence of cheating in competitive online games. The first round of Battlefield 6’s open beta was affected by a wave of cheaters, prompting EA’s anti-cheat team to respond, confirming that anti-cheat measures had blocked more than 330,000 attempts to do so.
PlaySafe ID’s survey of over 2,000 people found that most would be open to identity verification if it meant experiencing less cheating in games.Players ready for tougher rules
The report also highlighted that 42% of respondents had considered quitting a game entirely due to persistent cheating, while 83% said they would be more likely to play a title if it was credibly promoted as cheat-free.
One fascinating statistic found that 79% of users asked believed penalties for cheating should carry over across multiple games. Were online verification universally integrated into online games, such an outcome wouldn’t be so far-fetched.
Both Activision and EA, publishers of gaming’s most popular first-person shooters, have invested substantial resources in tackling the prevalence of cheating in Call of Duty, Battlefield, and Apex Legends.
Some games, like Valorant, use a kernel-level anti-cheat, but some critics of this system argue it gives too much access to the user’s PC files.
