More than half (60%) of gamers have had their multiplayer gaming experience negatively impacted by other players cheating on multiple occasions, according to new research by Irdeto. The Irdeto Global Gaming Survey of 9,436 consumers also indicates that these online gamers will purchase less in-game content and even stop playing the game in question, if they feel that other players are gaining an unfair advantage through cheating. Cheating in these games often involves manipulating and distorting data or code to gain an advantage over others or bypass in-game transactions.

Of the consumers surveyed online across six different countries, including China, Germany, Japan, South Korea, UK and US, 77% of online gamers are likely to stop playing a multiplayer game online if they think other players are cheating and 48% of online gamers are likely to buy less in-game content as a result. This suggests a massive impact on the revenues of game publishers if they do not adequately protect multiplayer online games from cheating.

Unlike the Xbox or PS4 versions, the PC version of Star Wars Battlefront II lacks support for split-screen multiplayer gameplay. Why? It's beyond us. Luckily modders 'benji' and 'Cade' were able to create a mod to trick the PC version of the game into thinking that it's running the console version. This mod even adds a nifty 'ENTER SPLIT SCREEN' button in the pause menu so players can reload their current map in split-screen mode. However, this feature only works with offline maps. Using it in online matches will immediately crash your game. It's also important to note that using this mod might violate EA's terms of service, so use it at your own risk. To get the split-screen mod to work, you must have Frosty Mod Manager installed on your system. The split-screen mod is available here.

Razer, the world leader in high-performance gaming hardware, software and systems, today announced a partnership with Riot Games to produce official Collector's Edition peripherals for League of Legends, the world's premiere PC gaming title.

As the only mouse on the planet optimized for Multiplayer Online Battle Arena (MOBA) gaming, the Razer Naga Hex features six large, mechanical thumb buttons and a custom League of Legends logo and detailed rune script on its scroll wheel. Gamers can pair the mouse with a League of Legends-branded Razer Goliathus mouse mat designed to enhance swift movements during the fast-paced lane wars across the Summoner's Rift. Both products come with an in-box code to unlock one of the game's champions and skin, and they are now available from here.

Playing against hackers and cheaters in multiplayer games is rarely fun, so now Rockstar is showing them just how it feels. It's hit upon a cruel and unusual punishment for cheaters in Max Payne 3's multiplayer: forcing them to play in a "Cheaters Pool" filled only with other hoodlums. "Anyone found to have used hacked saves, modded games, or other exploits to gain an unfair advantage in Max Payne 3 Multiplayer, or to circumvent the leaderboards will be quarantined from all other players into a 'Cheaters Pool', where they'll only be able to compete in multiplayer matches with other confirmed miscreants," Rockstar explains in a blog post. They'll also be cut from the leaderboards. Rockstar could deign to allow these rapscallions to rejoin civilised society, but will permaban them for a second infraction. Lets hope that one day all online games will adopt such measures.

As Blizzard winds up to launch StarCraft II: Heart of the Swarm later this year, it's also preparing to finally roll out some features fans have been asking for since before SC2: Wings of Liberty launched back in 2010. These include resuming multiplayer matches from replays, playing in other global regions, and watching replays together with other folks. These features and more should be patched in "at or around the launch of Heart of the Swarm," production director Chris Sigaty wrote in a blog post. Resuming from replays will help tournaments go smoother, as SC2's lack of a LAN mode means that problems with a Internet or Battle.net connections can spoil a match.

Rather than starting over from scratch or having judges rule on whether to award the win to one player, they'll be able to pick up where they left off. Global play will let you, as you can probably guess, play on other regional servers around the world, rather than being limited to your home region. Multiplayer replay viewing is a feature from the original StarCraft but cut from the sequel, for when you fancy watching a replay with some chums and discuss the game together. Multilanguage support, a clan/group system, and unranked matchmaking are also in the works.

It 'tis the season of rumors and assumptions for this years winter time blockbusters. According to Computer and Video Games, the following information, claiming to reveal the game's release date and a load of multiplayer features, was first posted on the official Black Ops forums in a thread that was later taken down, and its cached version is unavailable. It was then reposted in another thread on Activision's forums, which was also killed off by the publisher, but its cache remains available (via MP1st). None of this information is confirmed, but there's no reason it couldn't be genuine as it all sounds feasible. The list is full of new modes but makes no mention of a new game engine.

BAFTA recognised Portal 2 as the Best Game in its 2012 Video Games Awards. The smash-hit from Valve, also went on to win Best Design, and Best Story. Battlefield 3, on the other hand, went on to win Best Online Multiplayer, Best Audio Achievement, and GAME Award of 2011. Batman: Arkham City bagged Best Action, and Best Performer (Mark Hamill, who voiced The Joker). Portal 2 has been a centerpiece at Video Game achievement awards this year.

The Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War II multiplayer beta is now open to all gamers via Steam. To join the beta and/or pre-purchase the full title, please visit steamgames.com