Call of Duty now shows you when a cheater has been booted right in the kill feed

In the realm of online multiplayer games like Call of Duty, encountering a cheater who disrupts the gameplay experience is an unfortunate situation. However, players can now find solace in the fact that such cheaters are being swiftly removed from the game in real-time. Activision has introduced the ingenious Ricochet anti-cheat system that notifies Call of Duty lobbies whenever a cheater has been successfully ejected from a game. This recent development represents a significant step forward in the ongoing battle against cheaters in PC games.

This notification feature has been integrated into season five of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 and Warzone 2.0, which began on Wednesday. Furthermore, this season also offers players the exciting option to equip a loyal canine companion during gameplay.

For a while now, Activision has been actively combatting cheating within its game. Several years ago, the company issued a stern warning that cheaters are not welcome in its gaming community. In 2021, Activision introduced the Ricochet anti-cheat system, an internally developed software armed with a kernel-level driver specifically designed to detect PC cheaters within the Call of Duty franchise.

The rise of hardware devices that go undetected has posed significant challenges in detecting cheaters. These devices offer mouse and keyboard users the advantages of aim assist from controllers along with improved movement capabilities. However, game developers, including Ubisoft, are actively taking measures to prevent players from utilizing such third-party hardware for unfair advantages. For instance, Ubisoft has developed its own MouseTrap system that disrupts cheaters’ aim and input latency. Additionally, Epic Games has permanently banned players utilizing Cronus Zen and Cronus Max devices, while Bungie has updated its Destiny 2 terms of use to potentially ban players abusing these tools for gaining an unfair advantage over others.

Despite efforts by developers, aimbots and wallhacks remain prevalent and problematic in the gaming community. Aimbots automatically lock onto opponents’ heads, granting cheaters a significant advantage, while wallhacks expose the positions of all players on the map. Detecting and removing these types of cheaters from games continues to be a struggle for developers. Although kernel-level anti-cheat systems are preferred, cheat developers can bypass them on Intel-based processors by utilizing specialized hypervisor layers typically used for running undetectable virtual machines.

There is hope that Microsoft will eventually take steps to control the Windows environment for PC gaming. As the predominant platform for PC gaming, the openness of Windows enables cheaters to easily develop workarounds. Microsoft has introduced the Pluton security chip, which aims to provide Xbox-like security to future Windows PCs. However, the integration of Pluton with an anti-cheat system is yet to be announced.

In an effort to combat cheating, some game developers have resorted to legal action against the sellers of cheat systems. Bungie, the developer of Destiny 2, has been engaged in a legal battle against the developers and sellers of cheating software for months. Even if such legal actions prove successful, the cheat industry continues to profit greatly by offering monthly subscriptions for cheats. Some cheat developers even create premium, undetectable versions of their cheats to cater to customers seeking a competitive edge.