Activision has taken significant steps to address the widespread concerns about cheating within the *Call of Duty* community, particularly in *Black Ops 6* and *Warzone*. In response to player feedback, the company has announced plans to allow console players in Ranked Play to disable crossplay with PC players, aiming to mitigate the perceived higher incidence of cheating on PC.
Cheating has been a major issue since the introduction of Ranked Play in *Black Ops 6* and *Warzone* with the launch of Season 1. The community has been vocal about how cheating is undermining the competitive integrity of multiplayer games. Activision's Team Ricochet, which oversees the anti-cheat measures, acknowledged last month that their efforts at the launch of Season 1 fell short, particularly in protecting Ranked Play.
In a recent blog post, Activision outlined its comprehensive plan to combat cheating in 2025. The company disclosed that it has already banned over 136,000 accounts from Ranked Play since its inception. With the upcoming Season 2, players can expect enhanced client and server-side detection systems, along with a significant update to the kernel-level driver. Looking further ahead, Activision teased "a multitude of new tech" for Season 3 and beyond, including a novel system designed to authenticate legitimate players and pinpoint cheaters. However, specifics were withheld to prevent cheat developers from gaining insights into the new systems.
Starting with Season 2, console players will have the option to turn off crossplay in *Black Ops 6* and *Warzone* Ranked Play, enabling them to compete exclusively against other console players. This move is in response to the common practice among console players of disabling crossplay in standard multiplayer to avoid PC-based cheating. Activision stated that they will monitor the impact of this change closely and consider further adjustments to uphold the game's integrity.
While Activision's efforts to curb cheating are ongoing, the community remains cautiously optimistic. Cheating is a persistent problem across the gaming industry, but it has particularly affected Activision's reputation since the rise of the free-to-play *Warzone* in 2020. The company has invested heavily in anti-cheat technology and legal actions against cheat developers, with notable successes in recent legal battles.
Ahead of *Black Ops 6*'s launch, Activision set a goal to remove cheaters from matches within an hour of detection. The game was released with an updated kernel-level driver for Ricochet, applicable to both *Black Ops 6* and *Warzone*, alongside new machine-learning systems designed to quickly identify and counter aim bots by analyzing gameplay behaviors.
Activision has emphasized that cheat developers are sophisticated, organized groups that exploit game data for profit. Despite their efforts, cheat developers leave traces that Activision is committed to tracking down to expel them from the gaming ecosystem.
