Maybe because game companies went from being run by geeks to being run by business majors.
this post was submitted on 28 Aug 2025
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Why cut into profits by printing something on paper?
Cheat codes were originally what they used to test the games. Now they have proper dev tools.
But gamers have mods now
Plus the rest of the internet
Three things have changed.
First, GameFaqs put all of it online for free. Why would you buy a book? It's now a relic of the old web, but it's still there, filled with cheat codes and guides for all your games. Strategies evolve as players learn new things, so forums have replaced prescriptive guidebooks to accommodate new ideas.
Second, game development has changed. Cheat codes were originally tools for developers to function test. To test a particular level or feature, devs would have to play the actual game. Modern games are not as linear, and modern developers can throw together a test environment on the fly. Game components are more like isolated microservices, so modifying the game to test features does not need to be baked into the code.
The third thing is that everything has an online multiplayer now. Cheats are fun when it's just you against the machine, but online competitive play is ruined when your opponent has infinite health. Online cheaters still exist, ruining multiplayer for entire communities, but their aimbots and shit cannot be officially sanctioned or promoted in a guidebook.
A lot of cheats weren't actually useful gameplay cheats. My favorites were always the silly ones like big head mode or flying a real car in rogue squadron.
Oh yeah, a lot of games introduced cheats as easter eggs. NBA Jam set the standard for a lot of cheat variables.
Fourth, guidebooks still exist but are basically collectables now.
Christmas presents for the gamer who has everything. I got my son a Breath of the Wild encyclopedia, and he spent hours reading about different enemies and collectibles. It even had a map of korok seeds that he could scratch off (although he gave up when he learned what the reward would be).
Exactly. I bought one for the last Pokemon game I bought for nostalgia sake.
Edit: I still used the wiki when I had to find answers to stuff.
Because why give you free cheats when they can sell you DLC?
Cheat codes are here. Even more than in the old days. Just nobody prints them because we have the Internet now.
Let's plays and playthroughs are the guides nowadays. I don't know about cheat codes.
You're posting on it.
I think these were mostly replaced by art books due to the info from guide books now being on the internet. I collect a lot of art books from games I like, though not every game puts one out.