Slay the Spire Creator Admits to Cheating 100 Straight Wins, Sparking Debate

A cheating scandal has hit the Slay the Spire community after creator Xingguang admitted he used the console on the 96th run of his Ironclad 100-win challenge and publicly apologized the same day. According to the original report and Xingguang’s own account, it happened in the Slavers fight: he said he kept coming up short by 1 HP, spent another 2 hours trying after the stream ended, and ultimately only got through by adding an Anger card through the console.

What made this blow up was not just the cheat itself, but what came after. In a challenge like this, viewers are not just judging skill. They are judging whether the run was clean, whether the footage holds up under scrutiny, and whether the result was earned on screen rather than stitched together afterward.

The most damaging part was not just the extra card, but the attempt to hide it. By Xingguang’s own account, the footage he published began only after the Boss had already taken damage, so most viewers did not notice anything strange at first. A small number of people did catch the inconsistency and asked why there was no full recording of the run. One 2-yuan SC even directly asked why there was an extra Anger, and Xingguang did not respond.

That is the part many players are least likely to forgive. Failing a run is one thing. Stopping, resetting, or trying again is also part of challenge play. Secretly altering the outcome and then presenting it as legitimate is what turns a mistake into a credibility problem.

Still, the story did not drag out much further. The original report says that, at the time, no one had publicly produced conclusive proof of cheating. After being persuaded by his friend Shutiao, Xingguang chose to admit what happened and apologize on his own. That does not erase the cheat, but it does matter: he did choose to come clean before anyone publicly nailed down definitive proof.

He also put specific remedies in the apology. Xingguang said that, starting from the June 8 Ironclad run, all gifts and channel membership fees paid during that period would be refunded to viewers at the original price, while membership perks would still be delivered as usual. As for the unfinished 100-win challenge, he said he would restart it from the beginning.

The episode also says something broader about challenge streaming. The longer, harsher, and more audience-invested a project becomes, the more it needs full recordings and a more transparent archive. Viewers are not there just for the end result. They are watching the route, the mistakes, the recovery, and the next attempt after a collapse. That is where the value is.

From a community perspective, Xingguang’s apology and refunds may stop the bleeding, but they are unlikely to restore trust overnight. Players do not necessarily write off a creator for one failure. They do remember what happens after the failure: whether the person keeps bluffing, or is willing to put things right again. So when this restarted 100-win run begins, the audience will be watching more than wins and losses. They will be watching whether Xingguang can rebuild the credibility he lost, run by run.