# How do cheat codes in games get released? **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Created:** [March 27, 2015, 8:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-cheat-codes-in-games-get-released/716152 "2015-03-27T20:25:31Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 17\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![CookingWithGas](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cookingwithgas/32/485_2.png) [@CookingWithGas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CookingWithGas)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2015, 8:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-cheat-codes-in-games-get-released/716152/1 "2015-03-27T20:25:31Z")
You can find cheat codes published somewhere for just about every game, but never by the game producer. How do they get released? Nobody is tripping over these things by accident–they are typically very arcane, not something you could just guess. If the producer really didn’t want them made public you would think there would be sanctions on anyone who leaked them, and if they did want them public you would think they would publish them themselves. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Hamster\_King](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8edcca/32.png) [@The\_Hamster\_King](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Hamster_King)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2015, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-cheat-codes-in-games-get-released/716152/2 "2015-03-27T20:38:37Z")
> [@CookingWithGas](#): > > You can find cheat codes published somewhere for just about every game, but never by the game producer. How do they get released? Nobody is tripping over these things by accident–they are typically very arcane, not something you could just guess. If the producer really didn’t want them made public you would think there would be sanctions on anyone who leaked them, and if they did want them public you would think they would publish them themselves. Marketing campaigns for games often hinge on controlled trickles of information to the press: “Write an article about our game and we’ll give you an exclusive about this cool feature.” Cheat codes are part of that economy. ---
**Author:** ![dstarfire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dstarfire/32/5762_2.png) [@dstarfire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dstarfire)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2015, 8:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-cheat-codes-in-games-get-released/716152/3 "2015-03-27T20:59:48Z")
Are you talking about button combo, password, or glitch style cheat codes? Or are you talking about the ones for cheat devices that modify values in the systems memory (e.g. gameshark, codebreaker, action replay, etc.)? If it’s the first, Hamsterking probably nailed it. If it’s the second type, those cheats can be found by anyone with a little patience, and the right tools (hex editors, debuggers, etc.). ---
**Author:** ![Morgenstern](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Morgenstern](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morgenstern)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2015, 1:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-cheat-codes-in-games-get-released/716152/4 "2015-03-28T01:34:32Z")
Yeah, to this day I remember the cheat code for DOOM. It gave you full weapons and ammo. IDKFA ID the software developer K = kicks F = fine (well, close) A= ass No one would think to enter that when loading the game if it wasn’t published somewhere. ---
**Author:** ![engineer\_comp\_geek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/engineer_comp_geek/32/504_2.png) [@engineer\_comp\_geek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/engineer_comp_geek)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2015, 3:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-cheat-codes-in-games-get-released/716152/5 "2015-03-28T03:01:29Z")
Hackers will sometimes find cheat codes by looking through the game’s executable code, so cheat codes don’t always come from the folks who wrote the game. ---
**Author:** ![Saturn\_Dreams](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/dc4da7/32.png) [@Saturn\_Dreams](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saturn_Dreams)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2015, 3:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-cheat-codes-in-games-get-released/716152/6 "2015-03-28T03:23:05Z")
Cheat codes are implemented by the developer for debugging purpose so they can test specific areas under specific conditions without having to play the entire game. These cheat codes do not get deleted even for the GM/RTM build since that would mean a rewrite of the code and no one is going to be messing with that before GM/RTM. Once the game is released, any one of the multitude of debuggers can disseminate the cheat code to game forums. Even if the cheat mode is disabled, it’s just a matter of another simple cheat code to enable them. However, I think you’ll find cheat codes more and more rare. People are playing more social and multi-player games and no one wants to play with a cheater. Plus, they’ve learned to monetize “cheats” by allowing players to purchase more lives or stronger weapons. ---
**Author:** ![Jesta](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/c5a1d2/32.png) [@Jesta](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jesta)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2015, 8:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-cheat-codes-in-games-get-released/716152/7 "2015-03-28T08:58:32Z")
I discovered this cheat back in the day purely by chance. It’s an old PC game called Street Rods. I don’t assume to be the first to of found it, nor did I publicize it other than amongst my small group of floppy disk sharing friends at school. This would have been in the early 90’s. [http://www.gamewinners.com/Cheats/index.php/Street\_Rod\_(PC)](http://www.gamewinners.com/Cheats/index.php/Street_Rod_%28PC%29) [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/hfWnfPZkqSU/hqdefault.jpg "Street Rod: Money Cheat + Getting Fastest Car") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hfWnfPZkqSU) ---
**Author:** ![engineer\_comp\_geek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/engineer_comp_geek/32/504_2.png) [@engineer\_comp\_geek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/engineer_comp_geek)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2015, 11:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-cheat-codes-in-games-get-released/716152/8 "2015-03-28T11:00:52Z")
**Moderator Action** Moving thread from General Questions to The Game Room. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2015, 2:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-cheat-codes-in-games-get-released/716152/9 "2015-03-28T14:28:34Z")
> [@](#): > > Quoth **Morganstern** : > > Yeah, to this day I remember the cheat code for DOOM. It gave you full weapons and ammo. > > IDKFA > > ID the software developer > K = kicks > F = fine (well, close) > A= ass > > No one would think to enter that when loading the game if it wasn’t published somewhere. Everyone knows that expansion of the acronym, but the truth is much simpler: The “KFA” stands for “keys full ammo”, as evidenced by the existence of another cheat code, IDFA, which gives full ammo without the keys. The game also had a number of others, like IDDQD or IDSPISPOPD (I don’t know the expansion of that one), which made you invulnerable, and IDNOCLIP, which turned off clipping (which in practice means that you can walk through walls). ---
**Author:** ![Kobal2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kobal2/32/20_2.png) [@Kobal2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kobal2)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2015, 2:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-cheat-codes-in-games-get-released/716152/10 "2015-03-28T14:58:49Z")
> [@Saturn\_Dreams](#): > > However, I think you’ll find cheat codes more and more rare. People are playing more social and multi-player games and no one wants to play with a cheater. Plus, they’ve learned to monetize “cheats” by allowing players to purchase more lives or stronger weapons. Yeah, these days many “cheat codes” are actually joke-toggles, like “turn on Big Heads” or “replace all blood with flower sprays” or gravity switches, that kind of thing. ---
**Author:** ![Stealth\_Bragg](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/4bbf92/32.png) [@Stealth\_Bragg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stealth_Bragg)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2015, 12:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-cheat-codes-in-games-get-released/716152/11 "2015-03-30T12:54:55Z")
> [@engineer\_comp\_geek](#): > > Hackers will sometimes find cheat codes by looking through the game’s executable code, so cheat codes don’t always come from the folks who wrote the game. Here’s a [neat example](http://reassembler.blogspot.co.uk/2012/11/power-drift-easter-egg.html) of such a thing from Sega’s “Power Drift” arcade game. ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2015, 3:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-cheat-codes-in-games-get-released/716152/12 "2015-03-30T15:45:06Z")
> [@Morgenstern](#): > > Yeah, to this day I remember the cheat code for DOOM. It gave you full weapons and ammo. > > IDKFA > > ID the software developer > K = kicks > F = fine (well, close) > A= ass > > No one would think to enter that when loading the game if it wasn’t published somewhere. IDDQD is still burned into my mind, as is IDKFA. Doom was awesome. Didn’t IDDQD kill you in Heretic? ---
**Author:** ![GIGObuster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gigobuster/32/421_2.png) [@GIGObuster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GIGObuster)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2015, 4:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-cheat-codes-in-games-get-released/716152/13 "2015-03-30T16:19:45Z")
> [@Mahaloth](#): > > IDDQD is still burned into my mind, as is IDKFA. Doom was awesome. > > Didn’t IDDQD kill you in Heretic? Yes, “Trying to cheat, eh? Now you die!” If you used the full keys and ammo code, it removed all your weapons and you can not use the wand for the rest of the game. “Cheater - you don’t deserve weapons!” Showed if you used the code. > **[Heretic cheat codes](https://doom.fandom.com/wiki/Heretic_cheat_codes)** > > To use a cheat code in most versions of Heretic, one simply types the code while playing (this also applies while in automap mode). After the last letter has been entered, a message of acknowledgement will appear at the top of the screen. The status... ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2015, 1:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-cheat-codes-in-games-get-released/716152/14 "2015-04-01T13:42:02Z")
People do very often stumble upon cheats. You’ve got a lot of people playing, meaning lots of trials. I’ve stumbled upon a few cheats myself. It’s especially easy if there’s some sort of place where typing in cheats makes sense. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2015, 3:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-cheat-codes-in-games-get-released/716152/15 "2015-04-01T15:44:20Z")
Using cheat codes in Sims 2 is required if one wants to have apartments or dorms. One has to open the cheat panel and tell the game that the lot they just created isn’t standard residential but an apartment or a dorm. ---
**Author:** ![Drummond\_Bays](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/8edcca/32.png) [@Drummond\_Bays](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Drummond_Bays)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2015, 2:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-cheat-codes-in-games-get-released/716152/16 "2015-04-05T02:05:30Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > Everyone knows that expansion of the acronym, but the truth is much simpler: The “KFA” stands for “keys full ammo”, as evidenced by the existence of another cheat code, IDFA, which gives full ammo without the keys. The game also had a number of others, like IDDQD or IDSPISPOPD (I don’t know the expansion of that one), which made you invulnerable, and IDNOCLIP, which turned off clipping (which in practice means that you can walk through walls). A kid in school said it stands for “smashing pumpkins into slimy piles of putrid debris.” Always stuck with me. ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2015, 3:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-cheat-codes-in-games-get-released/716152/17 "2015-04-05T03:33:42Z")
> [@Saturn\_Dreams](#): > > These cheat codes do not get deleted even for the GM/RTM build since that would mean a rewrite of the code and no one is going to be messing with that before GM/RTM. That’s not really the case, unless the game is badly coded. A cheat function can be implemented with a simple hard coded flag. Set the flag to false before building, and the cheats are completely inaccessible. I’ve done QA on a lot of games that had very sophisticated cheat interfaces that were effectively excised entirely from the retail version. Always made that last test pass before release a real pain in the ass.