Destiny 2 Cheating Has Skyrocketed in 2020

Cheating is a major problem for online games. It makes the entire experience less enjoyable for everyone, and it can lead to a huge drop-off in players if the developer doesn't find ways to combat the problem. Infinity Ward has quickly learned just how problematic this can be with Call of Duty: Warzone, but Destiny 2 is facing much more significant issues this year. According to Bungie, cheating in the game is up about 50% since January. That's a massive increase, and one that could prove problematic for the game moving forward. Fortunately, the team seems committed to finding ways to curb the problem, and ban those that cheat in the game.

"When your pinnacle achievements are denied by encountering a cheater on a high Trials ticket, or devalued by seeing someone else with ill-gotten goods, that's frustrating. Those frustrations are happening too often right now, and the vengeance of the Banhammer is often too far behind," said David Aldridge, in a post shared by Bungie. "That said, the Banhammer has not been idle. Before Season of the Worthy launched, we were averaging 656 bans or restrictions per week. In the first four weeks after launch, that rate more than tripled to 2133 punishments per week."

On one hand, it's excellent to see Bungie taking the problem seriously, but on the other hand, it's troubling to see just how prominent the issue is. The majority of these issues are happening on PC, as cheaters take advantage of Aimbots, Wallhacks, and Lag Switching. Aldridge says that Bungie has plans in place for the first two issues, but they are keeping those solutions quiet, in order to prevent players from coming up with work-arounds. As far as Lag Switching is concerned, Bungie is looking at different methods, in order to prevent players with less reliable internet from being accidentally punished.

It will be interesting to see just how well these tactics work for Bungie. It's surprising to see Bungie so upfront with these figures, as it points to a real problem with the game. The increased percentage in players cheating could very well be related to the increase in players spending time with online gaming during social distancing, but that will likely make players elect to play something else until the problems are fixed.

Have you encountered cheating in Destiny 2? Are you surprised by the number of players cheating in the game? Let us know in the comments or share your thoughts directly on Twitter at @Marcdachamp to talk all things gaming!