Activision pegs global Call of Duty cheat market at $8.5 billion annually

Activision published a report ahead of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4's October 22 launch detailing the scale of the video game cheating economy, citing research from threat intelligence firm Intorqa. The study estimates the market generates between $5.1 billion and $13.8 billion yearly, with cheat subscriptions for just 15 popular titles alone bringing in roughly $3.5 billion, and the remainder coming from account trading, boosting, and spoofing hardware sold through organized distributor networks.