10 Video Game Cheats Found YEARS Later
These cheats weren't found for years, even DECADES.
While it's a sad casualty of modern gaming that cheat codes are few and far between - achievements be-damned! - for decades they were a glorious cornerstone of the entire medium.
The thrill of ripping open a gaming magazine, flipping to the secrets page and discovering a cheat for your favourite game was basically unrivalled, and more often than not, every last code hidden within a game was out in the open in short order.
But sometimes developers decide to hold onto their cheats for a little while longer than that, either for the fun of waiting to see if players ever find them themselves, or because they just straight-up forgot about them.
And yet, these cheats were all eventually discovered many years, even decades later, by committed and enterprising players who dug deep into each game's guts and took a look around.
The result is previously unknown cheats now shared for all to enjoy, or at least marvel at the sheer fact that they managed to remain undiscovered for so damn long.
And so, even if it seems like you've seen everything a classic game has to offer, there's always the possibility that a curious modder will find something laying dormant within the code...
10. The Piracy Code - Alien Resurrection
2000's Alien Resurrection game is best remembered for its innovative - and at-the-time wildly divisive - analogue stick control scheme, but it more recently earned itself a place in history for an altogether more shocking reason.
Last year, YouTube channel Modern Vintage Gaming revealed that the game contains a cheat code which allows players to play "import" or "backup" game discs without the need to modify their PlayStation console in any way - such as with a modchip.
If we're being real, it basically lets you play pirate PS1 games in the easiest way imaginable, as the code effectively turns the Alien Resurrection game disc into a boot disc, letting you swap it out for your totally-legal backup game.
This hidden cheat was told to Modern Vintage Gaming by Martin Piper, the developer who secretly included it within the game code without the knowledge of his team or, more brazenly, Sony.
As for why he did it? He simply wanted to see if the PS1 could load different discs without resetting the console, which evidently it could. Needless to say, he didn't dare reveal his sneaky secret until long after Sony had moved on from the original PlayStation.