Call of Duty’s Response to the Spike in PC Cheaters Via the Xbox Game Pass Addition Leaves a Lot to be Desired

It’s a known fact that cheating in Call of Duty has been an issue for years, continuously wreaking the gameplay experience for many players. Despite Activision and Treyarch’s efforts to bring countermeasures and push fair play, cheaters have found new loopholes to exploit the game.

Recently, the cheating problem became even more serious with the debut of Modern Warfare 3 on Xbox Game Pass. While the developers have addressed the issue, many players believe that the game is outright unplayable, and it’s time for GTA 6 to show the shooter series how it’s done.

Call of Duty Gamers Aren’t Satisfied With Anti-Cheating Measures

In the last couple of days, Call of Duty gamers have reported a rise in exploits and cheating, with some cheaters using the PC version from the Microsoft Store but appearing in matches with an Xbox logo next to their usernames. This happened when the Microsoft Store version of the title listed PC players as Xbox users.

This allowed PC cheaters to disguise their activities as if they were playing on Xbox. The whole community was frustrated and awaiting an official response from the developers. Thankfully, Call of Duty has issued a statement diving into the issue with the Ricohet Anti-Cheat system, which led to an increase in cheater reports.

🛡️ #MW3 #Warzone #TeamRICOCHET

RICOCHET Anti-Cheat resolved an issue with a detection system over the weekend, which resulted in a spike in cheater reports. For clarity, #TeamRICHOCHET is able to detect the specific platform for all users, despite how they may appear in-game. If…

— Call of Duty Updates (@CODUpdates) July 30, 2024

Activision and Treyarch have assured gamers that their cheating system is capable of detecting the platform each player is on, even if this information can’t be seen during games.

While the developers are encouraging gamers to report any suspected player in their lobbies through the in-game reporting system, players are skeptical and have lost their faith in the report-based system.

Just confirmed the shadowban system is report-based. We need GTA 6 NOW

— SǤT ⱤEĐ฿E₳ⱤĐ (@SGTRedbeardd) July 30, 2024

Many in the community want the game to bring a better anti-cheating system, as it’s clearly lacking in many ways.

It’s mind-boggling how Activision is relying on user reporting to deal with cheaters. Clearly, they need to learn from Riot Games and their anti-cheating system for Valorant.

INVEST IN A BETTER ANTI CHEAT IT CLEARLY DOES NOT WORK

— Jake😈 (@JXKE__YT) July 30, 2024

While it’s unclear whether the franchise will ever get rid of Call of Duty cheaters, the developers have taken a lot of notable actions in recent months. One of the biggest cheats providers, Raging Nation, decided to cease operations after receiving a legal notice from Activision.

If Activision doesn’t want Black Ops 6’s multiplayer aspect to be a disaster like previous games, they must carry this momentum and bring even more effective ways to deal with cheaters.

Call of Duty Richochet Anti-Cheating System is a Disaster

It’s surprising how a billion-dollar company like Activision has failed to develop an anti-cheat that doesn’t get obliterated every second week. Despite all the resources under their belt, why are Call of Duty developers failing to implement a proper system?

Well, the cheaters are quite clever at finding loopholes. To counter Ricochet, cheat providers have found many creative methods, such as stopping their software the minute Ricochet scans a user’s game. Suspected players in a lobby have their gameplay screenshotted throughout the match, but cheats can detect when this will happen.

The core issue with Ricochet is that it’s not a kernel-level system like Easy Anti Cheat or Riot Vanguard. While kernel-level anti-cheating software does come with its problems, it’s the most effective way to deal with the smartness of cheat providers.

With that said, are you enjoying Modern Warfare 3 on Xbox Game Pass? If so, let us know in the comments!