Activision addresses Call of Duty cheating concerns, promising improved anti-cheat measures and console-only crossplay options.

The Call of Duty community's frustration over rampant cheating in Black Ops 6 and Warzone's Ranked Play mode has prompted Activision to announce significant anti-cheat initiatives. Following criticism for the insufficient initial rollout of Ricochet Anti-Cheat in Season 1, Activision revealed a multi-pronged approach to combat cheating in 2025.

This includes over 136,000 account bans since the Ranked Play launch. Season 2 will introduce enhanced client and server-side detection, along with a major kernel-level driver update. Further advancements, including a novel player authentication system designed to identify and target cheaters, are planned for Season 3 and beyond. Details on this new system are being withheld to prevent cheat developers from exploiting it.

A key immediate change for Season 2 is the introduction of a crossplay disable option for console players in Black Ops 6 and Warzone Ranked Play. This addresses the prevalent issue of PC-based cheating, a concern that has led console players to routinely disable crossplay in standard Multiplayer modes. Activision will monitor the impact of this change and consider further adjustments to maintain game integrity.

Activision's anti-cheat efforts have faced skepticism from the community. The company's ongoing battle against cheating, which has become a significant reputational challenge since Warzone's 2020 launch, involves substantial investment in anti-cheat technology and legal action against cheat developers, with several recent high-profile victories.

Prior to Black Ops 6's launch, Activision aimed for one-hour detection and removal of cheaters from their first match. The game launched with an updated Ricochet kernel-level driver and machine-learning systems for faster detection and analysis of gameplay to counter aimbots. Activision acknowledges the sophisticated and organized nature of cheat developers, emphasizing their continuous efforts to identify and remove cheaters. The company highlights that even the most advanced cheats leave traceable evidence, which their team actively pursues.

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