Reef and Siren: A Grounded Theory Study of Cheating Legitimacy Through the Lens of Absolute Recoil

Game cheating has emerged as an increasingly prevalent phenomenon within the gaming experience. However, previous research has predominantly concentrated on the rule violations it involves, rather than delving into the inherent tension between rules and cheating practices. Leveraging in-depth interviews with 20 seasoned cheaters and utilizing the theory of absolute recoil as a conceptual framework, this study delves into the underlying rationale for players’ decisions to cheat and the structural contradictions within game rules that cheating exposes. The findings unveil a tripartite dynamic underpinning cheating behavior: an asymmetrical cost-benefit analysis that renders cheating virtually a one-sided gain; a fragmented sense of self fluctuating between the player and the avatar; and the inherent irrationality embedded in game rules themselves, which operate less as protective contracts and more as oppressive structures. Building on these insights, the study reveals a dialectical process wherein players retroactively establish the legitimacy of cheating through the interplay of repeated behavioral experiences and cognitive reconstruction. Meanwhile, the inherent contradictions within the rule system—its reliance on the potential for transgression, the self-defeating quest for absolute purity, and the imbalance between rights and responsibilities—structurally ensure the very cheating they aim to eradicate. This study provides a phenomenological account of the legitimacy of cheating and offers implications for how game designers might recognize cheating as an inherent aspect of the game’s symbolic economy, rather than as an anomaly to be eliminated.