IANAL, so I'm just going to wing this with the first page of Google searches. https://aeonlaw.com/blog/2018/09/23/video-game-cheats-can-infringe-copyrights/ https://tsircoulaw.com/copyrights/is-video-game-cheating-illegal/ https://www.finnegan.com/en/insights/blogs/incontestable/cheaters-never-prosperand-they-also-can-be-liable-for-copyright-infringement.html and https://www.justice.gov/archives/jm/criminal-resource-manual-1847-criminal-copyright-infringement-17-usc-506a-and-18-usc-2319 So, as a lay person, I'd say if the cheats are unlocking something that would otherwise be obtained through in game premium/freemium currency, that is theft of the intellectual property because it is done without the creator's consent? Manipulation of PvP matches to skew rewards would essentially be the same thing, you double your win rate you essentially halve the revenue the developer would earn in the time it would take for you to earn the rewards, burn out the dopamine cycle, and lose interest in the game?