Editing Cheating in online games (section)

==Penalties for cheating==
Game publishers can implement a wide array of consequences for cheating players.

===Banning players===
Some game publishers may decide to try to permanently ban players who are persistent in cheating and ruining the game community. Such bans are typically placed based on hardware ID or IP address. Consequently, cheaters may develop ways of getting around these bans, by either playing through proxy or VPN servers, or spoofing or changing their hardware configuration.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://ccplz.net/threads/nexon-are-enforcing-their-new-tou-in-regard-to-banning-multiple-accounts.59770/ |title=Nexon hardware bans |date=16 January 2015 |access-date=8 July 2015 |author=Tryst |work=ccplz.net |archive-date=10 July 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150710145404/https://ccplz.net/threads/nexon-are-enforcing-their-new-tou-in-regard-to-banning-multiple-accounts.59770/ |url-status=dead }}</ref>

Some companies and leagues ban suspected cheaters by blacklisting specific installation or serial keys, or user accounts, meaning that the player is effectively prevented from playing the game online. Certain games are known to identify cheaters and "[[Shadow banning|shadow ban]]" them by placing them in matchmaking with other cheaters only, so as not to let the cheaters know that they have been identified.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Patterson |first1=Calum |title=Twitch streamer Aydan "shadow-banned" in Warzone |url=https://www.dexerto.com/call-of-duty/twitch-streamer-aydan-shadow-banned-in-warzone-1508753/ |website=Dexerto |access-date=5 July 2021 |language=en |date=6 February 2021}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Singh |first1=Surej |title='Call Of Duty: Warzone' players report being shadowbanned despite not cheating |url=https://www.nme.com/news/gaming-news/call-of-duty-warzone-players-shadowbanned-not-cheating-2846643 |website=NME |access-date=5 July 2021 |date=30 December 2020}}</ref>

While game publishers are known to ban players employing cheats, the actual number of players banned is usually not revealed. Exceptions to this include [[Blizzard Entertainment]], [[Nexon]], and [[CipSoft]], known for banning cheaters in batches, and publicising the number of banned accounts, presumably in order to discourage others from cheating.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://maplestory.nexon.net/news/maintenance/ban-list |title=Mapplestory banlist |date=21 April 2015 |access-date=8 July 2015 |work=MapleStory |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150418081237/http://maplestory.nexon.net/news/maintenance/ban-list |archive-date=18 April 2015 |publisher=[[Nexon America Inc.]] |url-status=live }}</ref>

===Suspension===
In some cases a ban may not be permanent and will expire after a certain period of time. Suspensions are commonly used as a punitive measure for abuse of game glitches, harassing players, or benefiting from hacks. Temporary bans may also be utilized in case a violation cannot be fully proven, as is common with anti-cheating methods based on [[#Player supervision|supervision]] or [[#Anomaly detection|statistical detection]].

===In-game kick===
In general kicking is perceived as a mild punishment, serving as a warning for the player in question. Some anti-cheat systems may decide to kick players out of a game server when the system integrity cannot be enforced nor be determined with certainty. Other anti-cheat methods may also utilize kicks as an instant punishment for presumably unfair game play behavior.

Some games may also provide the community with the option of voting for particular players to be kicked. Such a system provides the power to self-regulate and effectively get rid of abusive players without depending on [[#Player supervision|supervision]] or other anti-cheat methods.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://wiki.teamfortress.com/wiki/Voting|title=Voting in Team Fortress 2|date=2011-04-14|access-date=2015-07-08}}</ref> Even though vote kicking brings many benefits, it may also serve as a tool for trolling or [[griefer|griefing]] by allowing for legitimate players to be removed out of the game through the voting process.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://steamcommunity.com/app/730/discussions/0/864960354109863154/|title=Griefing and voting in Competitive CSGO|date=2013-02-24|access-date=2015-07-08}}</ref>

===Demotion===
When a violation is the result of farming or stat-padding, it may be too severe of a punishment to suspend or ban players. Some games, therefore, implement a system of demotion in which the offender is moved to a lower rank (demoting), the opposite of a promotion.

===Progress-removal===
In several games where points are used, if a player is caught cheating they will get their score reset to the base value that is applied when a new player joins the server.