CheatBook

    PC game cheats — the complete guide

    PC has the deepest cheat culture of any platform because most modern engines ship with a developer console. That means you can activate cheats yourself without downloading anything — just type a command in-game and press Enter.

    A short history of PC cheats

    PC cheating predates the internet. id Software's Doom (1993) shipped with idkfa, idclip and iddqd baked into the executable, and Quake introduced the tilde-key console that every FPS after it copied. Through the late 1990s and early 2000s, single-player PC games were expected to ship with a console — GTA: San Andreas, The Sims, Half-Life, Fallout 3 and dozens of others all let players type commands directly into the running game. The tradition survives today in Bethesda's Creation Engine (Skyrim, Fallout 4, Starfield) and every Source-family title.

    PC cheats in 2026

    In 2026, the split between single-player and multiplayer PC cheats is absolute. Single-player titles either ship a console (Baldur's Gate 3 has one hidden behind a launch flag; Cyberpunk 2077 exposes one through mods) or they let community trainers like Cheat Engine and WeMod attach safely. Multiplayer titles run kernel-level anti-cheat — Vanguard, EAC, BattlEye, VAC — that treats even a debugger attach as bannable. Practically every cheat on this site is single-player or offline; competitive PvP is out of scope.

    How PC cheats work

    • Most PC titles bind the developer console to the tilde key (~) or the backtick key (`). Some games hide it behind a launch flag or a config file edit.
    • Console commands run as soon as you press Enter. They are usually case sensitive, and typos silently fail rather than showing an error.
    • Modern engines (Unreal, Unity, id Tech, Creation Engine) each expose their own command set. A cheat that works in one game will not work in another even if the syntax looks similar.
    • Steam, Epic Games Store and GOG detect console command use on many titles and disable achievements for the current save.

    Common PC cheat types

    • Console commands (god mode, infinite ammo, noclip, spawn item)
    • Config file tweaks that unlock hidden options
    • In-game cheat menus enabled by a launch parameter

    Staying safe on PC

    Back up your save folder before typing anything into a console. Most PC saves live under %USERPROFILE%\Documents\My Games or %APPDATA%. Never install a 'trainer' from a random YouTube description — the vast majority are info-stealers that grab Steam cookies and browser passwords. If a cheat tool asks for your Steam login, close it immediately.

    Warnings

    • Never use cheats in multiplayer or competitive modes. VAC, EAC and BattlEye bans are permanent and tied to your account.
    • Do not download third-party 'trainers' — they routinely contain malware and account stealers.
    • Console commands can corrupt saves in some engines. Always keep a pre-cheat save slot.

    A step-by-step PC cheat workflow

    Every experienced cheater on PC follows roughly the same routine. It minimises the risk of corrupting a save, and it keeps a clean rollback point in case a cheat behaves differently than the documentation suggests.

    1. Duplicate the current save file from %USERPROFILE%\Documents\My Games (or the equivalent for the engine) before touching a console.
    2. Launch the game, wait for the main menu, then open the developer console with tilde (~) or the game-specific launch flag.
    3. Type the command exactly as documented, including capitalisation and quotes. Press Enter — the console echoes success or a red error.
    4. Test the effect in an isolated area (a safe house, a starting zone) before continuing your main run.
    5. Save to a new slot so you can compare cheated and clean progress side-by-side.

    Signature PC cheats on CheatBook

    A handful of PC titles define what cheating on the platform looks like in practice. Each example below links to the full cheat page, which lists every code we've verified, the version it was tested against, and the trophy or achievement side-effects.

    Cyberpunk 2077

    CD Projekt Red never shipped an official developer console for Cyberpunk 2077, but the game exposes hundreds of debug commands through a community mod loader. Our Cyberpunk 2077 cheat page walks through the safe way to attach the console, spawn Iconic weapons, and adjust Street Cred without corrupting a save — everything runs in memory, so verifying, backing out and reloading a clean save takes seconds.

    The Sims 4

    The Sims 4 is the archetypal PC cheat game. Ctrl+Shift+C opens the console; motherlode, kaching and rosebud remain the most-searched terms in the franchise's history. On CheatBook the Sims 4 page groups the money commands, needs-max commands, and the more advanced testingcheats objects — all sanctioned by EA and safe to run on any save.

    Baldur's Gate 3

    Larian left a full-featured Baldur's Gate 3 debug console behind an --auto-continue launch flag. Our BG3 cheat page shows exactly how to add the flag in Steam, spawn scrolls and gold, and toggle party movement — useful when Act 3 performance issues cost you a boss attempt.

    Stardew Valley

    Stardew Valley's 'cheats' are structured naming tricks and save-file item codes rather than a real console. The Stardew cheat page walks through the farm-name money trick, item spawner IDs, and the CJB Cheats Menu SMAPI mod that lets you edit stats live without breaking multiplayer.

    Minecraft

    Minecraft ships /gamemode, /give, /tp and /effect as first-party commands the moment cheats are enabled in a world. Our Minecraft page collects the coordinate teleporting, structure-locating, and NBT-tagged item spawns most players never discover through the vanilla UI.

    Terraria

    Terraria has no built-in console, but Re-Logic openly supports the tModLoader ecosystem. The Terraria cheat page lists the sanctioned Cheat Sheet and HERO's Mod workflow for spawning items, toggling flight and building faster in single-player worlds without breaking multiplayer signatures.

    Troubleshooting PC cheats

    Tilde does nothing.

    The console is likely disabled by default. Check the game's launch options for a flag like -allowConsole, -console or --debug, or look for a Community Debug Menu mod on Nexus.

    The command echoes but nothing changes.

    Case matters. Try the exact casing from the cheat page, and remove any smart-quote characters Windows may have inserted when pasting.

    My anti-virus flagged the trainer I downloaded.

    Delete it. Legitimate PC cheats on CheatBook never require a third-party trainer download — everything runs through the game's own console or an established mod loader.

    PC cheat FAQ

    Do PC cheats disable Steam achievements?

    Yes, in most modern titles. Once a console command runs, achievements are silently blocked for the current save. Keep a separate save if you want the completion.

    Are console commands the same as mods?

    No. Console commands are built into the game and run in memory. Mods change the game files on disk. They can be combined, but they are different systems.

    Will I get VAC-banned for using single-player cheats?

    Only if you use them in a VAC-secured game while connected to VAC servers. Single-player-only titles are not covered by VAC.