How to Hack Games

Written by Travis Boylls

Last Updated: April 26, 2024 Fact Checked

Hacking a game is the process of editing the game's source code in order to gain an advantage. For example, you may hack a game to gain more health or lives. Hacking a game normally requires a sufficient understanding of how the game is built and knowing what you need to edit. However, there are hacking tools that work with a variety of games. It's important to understand that these tools may not work with every game. Games on platforms like PlayStation, Xbox, and iPhone and iPad cannot be easily hacked. It's also important to remember that hacking an online game may result in you getting banned, or possibly prosecuted. This wikiHow teaches you a simple way to hack games for Android and Windows.

Method 1

Method 1 of 4:

Installing Cheat Engine on PC

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Go to https://cheatengine.org/downloads.php in a web browser. This is the website to download Cheat Engine, which is a tool used to hack games on PC.
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Click Download Cheat Engine 7.1 (Windows only). This downloads the install file for Cheat Engine 7.1 for Windows.
- If you are using Mac, click Download Cheat Engine 7.1 For Mac instead.
- Beware of any pop-ups that try to get you to download other software or browser extensions. If you encounter pop-ups for other programs or extensions, click the option to close them, if it's available. If not, click Continue to open the download page in another tab, and then close the tab.
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Downloaded files can be found in your "Downloads" folder on PC and Mac, or from within your web browser. Double-click the install file to install Cheat Engine. The install file is "CheatEngine70.exe" on PC, and "CheatEngineMac.dmg" for Mac.
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Click the radio button next to "I accept the agreement" and click Next. You can read the agreement in the text box. Click the circle button next to "I accept the agreement" when you are ready to continue and click Next in the lower-right corner.
- The process may be different on Mac than on PC. Follow the instructions in the install wizard to install Cheat Engine.
If you are okay with installing Cheat Engine in the default location, click Next in the lower-right corner to continue. To select a specific install location, click Browse and select a folder or drive to install Cheat Engine and click Ok.
This installs creates a desktop shortcut for Cheat Engine.
If you encounter any offers to download additional software while installing Cheat Engine, click Decline to decline the offer.
This indicates that you have read the information in the text box.
This finishes the installation process.

Method 2

Method 2 of 4:

Using Cheat Engine on PC

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Click the icon in the Windows Start menu, or Applications folder on Mac to launch a game. It game be any game you want.
Cheat Engine has an icon with a blue "E". Log into an account with administrative privileges on your computer. Double-click the Cheat Engine icon in the Applications folder on Mac. On Windows, right-click the Cheat Engine icon in the Windows Start menu, then click Run as an Administrator.
It's in the upper-right corner of Cheat Engine. ^{[1]
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Research source} This opens a list of processes currently running on your computer.
The processes in the list usually have a string of characters followed by the name of the program (i.e. 00001664-The Sims 4).
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Select Exact Value next to "Scan Type". This allows you to scan for an exact number. This is useful for searching for an exact numerical value. Such as the number of objects in your inventory, or health percentage.^{[2]
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Research source}
- If you value you want to change does not have a number value (i.e. a health bar), select "Unknown initial value" in the drop-down menu next to "Scan Type".
- You can also scan for values that are "Bigger than", "Smaller than", or values between a set of numbers.
^{[3]
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Research source} It's in the panel to the right. For example, if you are playing a Call of Duty: Black Ops and you want to add more ammo, pause the game and enter the current number of bullets you have in the "Value" field in Cheat Engine. In another example, if you're playing The Sims 4 and you want to add more Simoleons to your household funds, pause your game and enter your current number of Simoleons you have below "Household funds" in the "Value" field in Cheat Engine.
It's above the "Value" field. This searches for all addresses in your game with the number value you entered. The addresses are displayed in the panel to the left. ^{[4]
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Research source} Each of these addresses are variables from the game you are currently playing. One of them controls the object you want to change in your game (i.e. ammo in Call of Duty or Simoleons in The Sims 4). It's impossible to tell which address controls the object you want to change, so you will likely need to narrow them down.
Return to your game and change the value of the object you want to change. For example, if you are playing Call of Duty: Black Ops and you want to add more ammo, you could fire a bullet to lower your ammo count by 1.^{[5]
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Research source} If you are playing The Sims 4, you can buy something, like a snack from the refrigerator to spend some Simoleons in your household fund.
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Enter the new number in "Value" field and click Next Scan. For example, if you had 36 bullets during the first scan, and you fired 1 bullet, you would enter "35" in the Value field and click Next Scan.^{[6]
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Research source} If you had 7,000 Simoleons in The Sims 4, and you bought a sandwich for 8 Simoleons, you would enter "6992" in the "Value" field and click Next Scan. This scans all the previous addresses for a variable that started with a value of "7000" and changed to "6992".
- If the value you want to change has an unknown initial value, select "Increased value" or "Decreased value" next to "Scan Type" depending on if the number increased or decreased in the game. This will scan for any increase or decrease in the values rather than a specific number. ^{[7]
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  Research source}
- If you mess up during this process, you can always click New Scan and start all over again.
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Repeat as needed. It may take a few scans to narrow down the addresses enough to where can determine which one controls the object you want to change in your game. If needed continue to deplete your ammo/health/money in the game and adding the new value in Cheat Engine. ^{[8]
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Research source} Then click Next Scan.
- If you can't narrow the addresses down to just one, try to narrow them down to as small a number as possible.
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Double-click the address(es) that controls the value you want to change. Once you've narrowed down the addresses enough to where you know which one controls the object you want to change, double-click it. It will appear in the panel at the bottom.
- If there is more than one address, double-click all of them.
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Right-click the value(s) at the bottom of the screen. This displays a pop-up menu next to your mouse cursor.
- If there is more than one address listed in the panel at the bottom. Hold Ctrl and click all of them to select all of them at the same time.
This displays a pop-up window that allows you to change the value of the address(es) you selected.
Enter the desired number of the object you want to change and click Ok. ^{[9]
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Research source} For example, if you want to 9999 bullets in Call of Duty: Black Ops, enter "9999" in the Value field and click Ok. If you want to give yourself 3,000,000 Simoleons in The Sims 4, type "3000000" in the "Value" field and click Ok.
The checkbox is to the left of each of the addresses listed in the bottom panel in Cheat Engine. This makes the address value active in the game.
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Return to your game and change the object you want to change. You should see it add or subtract to the value you entered in Cheat Engine, rather than the previous in-game value. For example, if you give yourself "9999" bullets in Call of Duty: Black Ops, next time you fire your gun, it should subtract a bullet from "9999" instead of the 35 bullets you previously had. Likewise, next time you make a sandwich in The Sims 4, it will take 8 Simoleons away from the 3,000,000 Simoleons you entered in Cheat Engine, instead of the 6,992 you previously had.
- This method works in general, but it won't work with every game.

Method 3

Method 3 of 4:

Downloading Lucky Patcher for Android

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1
Go to https://www.luckypatchers.com/download/ in a web browser. Use a web browser on your Android phone to go to the website for Lucky Patcher.
- Lucky Patcher is not available for iPhone or iPad.
- Warning: Downloading this app from any other source may result in downloading viruses or malware.
- Warning: Playing hacked versions of online games may result in your account getting banned.
It's the first blue button at the bottom of the page.
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Tap Installer. It's the green button in the center of the page. This downloads the Installer apk file.
- In order to open APK files on your Android device, you must allow the installation of apps from unknown sources in the Settings menu on your Android phone or tablet.
You can open the file inside your browser by tapping Open at the bottom of the screen, or you can open it in the "My Files" app under "Installation files".
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Tap the Package Installer app and tap Just Once. This installs the app using the built-in Package installer app.
- If your Android device does not have a Package Installer Downloader app, you can download and install one from the Google Play Store. Just search "Package Installer" and install one of the free apps that have at least a 4-star rating.
This installs the Lucky Patcher Installer app on your Android phone.
It has an icon that resembles a smiley face. This installs Lucky Patcher on your Android smartphone.

Method 4

Method 4 of 4:

Using Lucky Patcher to Hack Games on Android

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1
Open Lucky Patcher. It has an icon that resembles a smiley face emoji. Tap the icon on your home screen or apps menu to open Lucky Patcher.
- The first time you open Lucky Patcher, you will be asked if you want to uninstall the installer app. Tap Yes to continue.
- You will also be asked to give Lucky Patcher permissions to access your phone files, gallery, and make phone calls, etc. Tap Allow to continue.
This displays a list of options below the game.
It's next to an icon that resembles a menu below the app you want to hack.
It's the orange text in the center of the screen.
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Tap one of the patches you want to add to the game. There are several patches you and use in Lucky Patcher, they are as follows:
- APK with Multi-patch: This allows you to select multiple patches.
- CustomPatch-applied APK: This allows you to select from a list of custom patches if they are available.
- APK without License Verification: If a game requires license verification from the Google Play Store, Amazon App Store, or Galaxy Store in order to run, this patch removes the license verification from the app.
- APK without Google Ads: This creates a patch that removes Google Ads.
- APK rebuilt for InApp and LVL emulation: If a game has in-game purchases, this patch will emulate the server that the in-game purchases go through so that you can get those in-game purchases for free. This won't work for every game, but some games, such as Injustice: Gods Among Us it works really well.
- APK with changed Permissions and Activities: This creates a patch that removes intrusive permissions from the app.
- Re-sign with test signature: This resigns the APK file with a test signature (Advanced users only).
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Tap the checkbox next to the patches you want to add. Different apps may have different custom patches available. Read what each patch does and tap the checkbox next to the patches you want to add.
- If you are trying to hack the in-game purchases, check "Support Patch for LVL emulation", and one of the "Support Patch for InApp emulation (Proxy Server)" options. You may be asked to install the Lucky Patcher Proxy Server app. Tap Yes and follow the on-screen instructions to install the Lucky Patcher Proxy Server for InApp purchases.
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Tap Rebuild The App. It's the blue button at the bottom of the alert. This will start the process of hacking the game.
- If you see an alert pop-up that informs you that the app will only work on devices with Lucky Patcher installed, tap Ok to continue.
It's the first blue button at the bottom of the screen.
This will uninstall the old version of the app and install the new version with the Lucky Patcher patches. It is necessary to uninstall the old version of the game to install and play the new version of the game.

Community Q&A

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Question

Can you do this on IOS?

Vinyaya

Community Answer

It depends on whether you're doing this on a Mac or a mobile device. If it's a Mac, you can do it easily. But IOS on mobile devices are a "closed system," meaning that they cannot download stuff from the internet, in order to protect the system from viruses.

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Question

Is it illegal to hack a game? I don't want to go to jail.

Vinyaya

Community Answer

If you hack some other guy's account to steal from them, etc, then yes, this is illegal. But if you are only doing this to your own account, you might get banned, but it's not "go to jail" illegal (unless you are downloading pirated cheats/software, which is a whole different thing).

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Question

What if I can't download APKs?

Community Answer

First check to see that your device settings allow installations from "Unknown Sources." Clearing your browser cache or trying a different browser can also help.

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