Activision has responded to widespread player concerns regarding cheating in Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 and Warzone, announcing plans to allow console players in Ranked Play to disable crossplay with PC players. The prevalence of cheaters since the introduction of Ranked Play in Season 1 of 2024 has sparked significant backlash from the community, with many citing it as a major detriment to competitive gameplay.
Activision's Team Ricochet, the anti-cheat division, acknowledged shortcomings in their initial Season 1 rollout, stating that their anti-cheat measures didn't meet expectations, particularly within Ranked Play. However, they've since implemented several updates.
A recent blog post details Activision's 2025 anti-cheat strategy, revealing over 136,000 Ranked Play account bans since the mode's launch. Season 2 will introduce enhanced client and server-side detection systems, along with a significant kernel-level driver update. Further advancements, including a new player authentication system designed to identify and target cheaters, are promised for Season 3 and beyond. Specific 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 crossplay disabling for console players in Ranked Play for Black Ops 6 and Warzone. This addresses the widely held belief that a significant portion of cheating originates from PC players, a concern that has led many console players to disable crossplay in standard Multiplayer for years.
Activision emphasizes ongoing monitoring and potential future adjustments to maintain game integrity, promising further updates as the crossplay disabling feature approaches launch.
While Activision's anti-cheat efforts are frequently met with skepticism from the community, cheating remains a persistent problem across the gaming industry. The issue has significantly impacted Activision's reputation, particularly since the surge in Warzone's popularity in 2020. The company has invested heavily in anti-cheat technology and legal action against cheat developers, with several recent high-profile successes.
Prior to the release of Black Ops 6, Activision aimed for sub-one-hour detection and removal of cheaters from their first match. This involved an updated Ricochet kernel-level driver (also applied to Warzone) and new machine learning systems focused on rapid detection and gameplay analysis to counter aimbots. Activision highlights the sophisticated and organized nature of cheat developers, emphasizing their ongoing efforts to identify and remove cheaters through the analysis of their actions within the game.
