Mr. Anderson agreed.

“They can’t technically protect the software, so they’re using scare tactics,” said Mr. Anderson, 42, standing outside his home in southeast Melbourne, on a porch strewn with broken electronics, a faded shopping basket and a cactus.

The raid, Mr. Anderson said, came after weeks of surveillance. Early on the morning of Sept. 25, his computers and hard disks were seized.

Mr. Anderson, who does not currently have a job, was also prohibited from using or disposing of any assets — excluding for modest living expenses — and was restrained from further developing or distributing Infamous and any other cheat software.

Failing to do so, the court order noted, could result in his imprisonment. He is acting as his own attorney , he said, and has yet to file a defense.

“They’re just beating up on me,” Mr. Anderson said of the game publishers, arguing that the search and seizure order was a disproportionate response. Infamous was designed to help players combat cheaters using more sinister modifications, almost like an antivirus software, he said.

But Alex Walker, editor of the gaming website Kotaku Australia, said that Infamous was “just a straight-up cheat.” Cheats, he said, “break and exploit parts of the game code to advantage the experience of one player at the disadvantage of other players.”

“It is genuinely harmful to the community,” he added.

In a statement provided to The Times, Take-Two Interactive said it was “committed to protecting our multiplayer community from harassment and other disruptions to their shared entertainment experiences.”