Activision has taken significant steps to address the persistent issue of cheating within the Call of Duty community, particularly in Black Ops 6 and Warzone. In response to widespread complaints, especially following the introduction of Ranked Play in Season 1 last year, Activision has promised to enhance its anti-cheat measures and introduce new features to combat cheating effectively.
Team Ricochet, the unit tasked with managing Call of Duty's anti-cheat technology, acknowledged that the initial integration of Ricochet Anti-Cheat at the start of Season 1 did not meet expectations, particularly in Ranked Play. In a recent blog post, Activision outlined its comprehensive plan for 2025 to tackle cheating, announcing that over 136,000 account bans have been issued in Ranked Play since its launch. With the upcoming Season 2, players can expect new and improved detection systems on both client and server sides, along with a significant update to the kernel-level driver. Looking ahead to Season 3 and beyond, Activision teased the introduction of a new system designed to authenticate legitimate players and target cheaters more effectively, though details remain under wraps to prevent cheat developers from gaining insights.
A notable short-term solution coming with Season 2 is the option for console players to disable crossplay in Black Ops 6 and Warzone Ranked Play. This move is in response to the belief that cheating is more prevalent among PC players, and it follows the trend of console players already opting out of crossplay in standard Multiplayer modes. "We'll be monitoring closely and will consider further changes to prioritize the integrity of the ecosystem, and we’ll have more details to share as we get closer to the launch of this feature," Activision stated.
Despite these efforts, skepticism remains among the Call of Duty fanbase, a common reaction to anti-cheat updates. Cheating has been a significant issue for Activision, especially since the launch of the free-to-play Warzone in 2020. The company has invested heavily in developing its anti-cheat technology and has seen success in legal actions against cheat developers. In preparation for Black Ops 6, Activision aimed to remove cheaters from matches within an hour of their first game, incorporating updated versions of Ricochet's kernel-level driver and machine-learning systems to detect and combat aim bots more efficiently.
Activision has highlighted the sophistication of cheat developers, describing them as organized groups that meticulously analyze game data to exploit vulnerabilities. "The people behind cheats are organized, illegal groups that pick apart every piece of data within our games to look for some way to make cheating possible," the company stated. Despite their efforts, cheat developers leave traces that Activision continuously works to identify and use to remove these bad actors from the game.
