A cheat code was a switch hidden in the controls
Many games treated a particular sequence of button presses as a command. If the game recognized it, it changed an internal setting—granting a weapon, for example, or making the player invulnerable. The code was less like a secret weakness in the game and more like a concealed switch its creators had chosen to leave available.
That mattered most in a game played alone. A player could use a code to revisit a level with different abilities, skip a difficult stretch, or simply see what happened when ordinary limits disappeared. The choice changed the challenge, but it did not take anything away from another player.
Multiplayer changes who pays for an advantage
In a shared match, the same kind of advantage affects everyone else. If one player can survive attacks or aim with help unavailable to opponents, the contest no longer tests the same abilities on both sides. That is why multiplayer games distinguish between options the game openly gives everyone and secret or unauthorized ways to gain an edge: equal access is part of the competition.
Speedrunning turns difficulty into the point
Speedrunners may also use techniques that look like cheating, including glitches—unintended behaviors caused by the game’s rules interacting in unexpected ways. A precise movement or timing trick can bypass a barrier, preserve momentum, or reach a later area early. The appeal is not simply having an easier game; it is executing a difficult route faster than the clock.
A speedrun category’s rules determine which techniques count. When runners compete under the same rules, a glitch can become part of the shared challenge rather than a private advantage. The key difference is the bargain: a cheat code changes the game for convenience or fun, while a speedrun technique is a demanding method measured against other attempts.
