How cheat codes work and why they’re useful: interview with a cheat trainer dev

Philipp Rüegg

22-4-2026

Translation: Patrik Stainbrook

Christian Jänicke has been developing cheat software for 30 years. In my interview, he explains why Plitch has nothing in common with those virus-riddled trainers from the ’90s and who benefits from them the most.

Up, up, down, down, left, right, left, right, B, A. Remember the Konami Code, providing extra lives? Other unforgettable codes include IDDQD, which activated invincibility mode in Doom, and motherlode, which solved your money problems in The Sims. Cheat codes have been around almost as long as video games. And if you don’t want to type them in manually every time or are looking for more options, there are always trainers for your computer. One such software program is Plitch.

Company co-founder Christian Jänicke, from Munich, began modifying his first games back in the early 1990s. In 2001, he published Megatrainer. Since 2018, his software and the company behind it have been called Plitch. Christian is part of a 20-person team, developing around 20 game trainers each week and providing cheats for over 5,700 games. We’re talking about single-player cheats here, not ones for multiplayer games like Counter-Strike or Fortnite.

What was the first cheat you ever used?
Christian Jänicke, cofounder of Plitch: the oldest one I can remember was probably for the SNES version of Sim City. There, I used Easy Money. To activate it, you had to spend all your money and hold down certain buttons at the turn of the year to receive a treasure trove. Also on the SNES, my buddy and I used the Konami code in International Superstar Soccer Deluxe to turn the referees into dogs.

How do you make a cheat for a game trainer?
I analyse the game code to see which part accesses a specific value. If I want to adjust the ammunition in a shooter, I check which function controls it. I write my desired logic directly into memory. With our code snippet on board, the game changes the value for us and then reads it – instead of the original value. The challenge lies in changing only the right value without accidentally affecting other parts of the game.

What’s the difference between a trainer and a mod?
Most mods are file-based – they modify game files. We work exclusively in memory. Since games aren’t always mod-friendly, you’ll quickly run into limitations there.

Where does the name Plitch actually come from?
At some point, Megatrainer started to sound a bit outdated and didn’t market well internationally. The idea for a new name was conceived in 2018. We brainstormed a lot, but couldn’t agree. Until one of our employees jokingly suggested «Plitschplatsch» (a German expression). Plitschplatsch was too long, so we went with Plitsch – just spelled with a «ch» – and suddenly everyone agreed.

In the past, antivirus programs would often flag trainers – usually for good reason. How about yours?
That was one of the reasons why I started developing my own training programs. For most people, whether you’d catch a virus was a gamble. That’s the upside of our all-in-one solution: all our trainers are included in a single product. You download it once and don’t have to worry about whether the file is clean every time. We’re on the whitelist of most antivirus providers. If we do ever get flagged, we report it and it’s usually corrected quickly.

Does it make a difference if a game is copy-protected?
Copy protection has no effect. It’s only there to prevent the game from being cracked. We don’t crack anything. We modify certain game mechanics that have nothing to do with copy protection. The situation’s different for anti-cheat systems – those always throw new challenges at us.

You also support games with online features, such as Elden Ring or Nightreign. How does it work there?
The trainer only works if you’re playing locally. It doesn’t activate in online mode; that’d risk getting your account banned. Our Elden Ring trainer automatically blocks your internet connection for this reason.

Many view cheats as an affront to artistic vision. What do you think of this argument?
We’ve often heard developers say: «I want players to play this exactly the way I envisioned it.» A year later, they come back and say: «You were right.» If you don’t like a game’s concept, if it’s too hard, whatever the reason: you won’t buy any add-ons, sequels or anything else. Plitch will provide the gaming experience you enjoy. It’s a win-win situation. Everyone knows best what they enjoy doing most. Our little daughter always asks this first: «Daddy, did you make him immortal?» Yes, I did. Then she feels reassured; otherwise, she doesn’t even want to watch. She doesn’t like it when the main character dies.

Cheats used to be everywhere. Everyone cheated their way to a tank in GTA 3. Have cheats changed?
It’s all become more complicated. In earlier Bethesda games, there was a God Mode command. It’d make you immortal, give you endless stamina and allow you to carry as much as you wanted.

I want to be able to buy a few things I can’t afford in a game at the touch of a button. But after that, I want to go back to playing the game normally. The trainer should provide me the freedom to play a game my own way. Do I want to be invincible, or just take a little less damage? In Elden Ring, the wolves were too fast for me, and I never managed to hit them. So, I used a cheat to cut their speed in half, and right away I was having more fun. In my opinion, this fine-tuning is what really makes the difference.

Studios have become more aware of this. Accessibility options are becoming more commonplace. But there still seems to be a high demand for cheat trainers like Plitch.
It takes an enormous amount of effort for developers to come up with these options, implement them and help test them. A lot of studios – especially smaller ones – struggle to provide them. Many of our customers live with disabilities, whether motor or visual. Naturally, they’re happy when we offer the added help.

Who else uses cheats?
A wide range of gamers. The typical family dad remains our main customer. After a long day at work, he doesn’t want to get stuck in the same spot in Elden Ring or Bloodborne for hours on end. He’d just sit there, stressed and annoyed, and not having a nice evening. He just wants to have an adventure. But there are also younger people who find games too easy. We then make it so you only have one health point, with a maximum of two bullets in your magazine. The gameplay loop then becomes shoot twice, take cover, reload, enjoy. Esports players have also used Plitch to practise this way, to make upcoming tournaments feel easier.

Which games are particularly popular?
Civilization used to be really big. That changed completely in Part 7, due to its anti-cheat system. As a result, we offer very few cheats for it. Anno is always a huge hit. As a general rule, any game that involves building or economic simulation and offers a long playtime tends to be popular. Resident Evil games are also very popular. But right now, the clear top dog is Crimson Desert.

What are your most popular cheats?
It depends on the game. Some of our cheats are free, others are behind a paywall. Our free options are used more often as a result. It’s why invincibility, health restore and infinite stamina top our list of cheats. The Hunter: Call of the Wild is also popular. There’s a cheat in it that makes animals glow – in Plitch green, of course. This allows you to see them far away through the thicket.

How long does it take for cheats to become available for a new game?
That depends on the engine and the programming in it. Games built with Unreal Engine or Unity are usually easier to work with. For simpler games like platformers or racing games, a basic trainer with 10 to 20 cheats will be available after two to four hours. For bigger games like Resident Evil Requiem, the three of us spent several days tinkering. Crimson Desert took at least six working days.

So, does this mean a trainer’s usually available on day of release?
That’s our goal. But if a release isn’t until the evening, this is difficult. Midnight releases are the worst. Elden Ring was one such candidate. My download was installed at one o’clock, and at two o’clock I released the first trainer worldwide. I then kept working until 6:30 a.m. Then our daughter went to kindergarten – and I went to sleep.

How much maintenance do these trainers require? Games are regularly updated with patches and updates these days.
Every day, we release 30 to 60 patches – sometimes as many as 100 – for the various games we support. We check them all manually. Almost twice as many people work on game updates, compared to developing new trainers.

Is there a game for which you wish there were cheats, but – for whatever reason – there aren’t any?
Several years ago, I bought a PS4 along with Bloodborne. Unfortunately, there are no built-in cheats for it, and I can’t create my own on the PS4 either. At some point, I gave up out of frustration, even though the atmosphere and gameplay are fantastic. But the difficulty is just so extreme that I simply didn’t enjoy it.

Do you have a favourite cheat?
Besides God mode, I love cheats like infinite jumps. There’s nothing better than soaring through the air from one mountain to another in games like Horizon Forbidden West, with the machines far below me.

Philipp Rüegg

Senior Editor

Philipp.Rueegg@digitecgalaxus.ch

As a child, I wasn't allowed to have any consoles. It was only with the arrival of the family's 486 PC that the magical world of gaming opened up to me. Today, I'm overcompensating accordingly. Only a lack of time and money prevents me from trying out every game there is and decorating my shelf with rare retro consoles. more

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