A Sudden Spike in Cheating
Thanks to a brief hiccup in Call of Duty’s anti-cheat software, there was a noticeable spike in cheaters last week. Although Activision quickly assured players that the issue had been resolved, the community’s concerns were not entirely put to rest.
Ban Wave and Purged Leaderboards
In a recent update, the studio confirmed actions against certain accounts as part of a ban wave. According to a post on X, “The Ricochet anti-cheat team has deployed new detections targeting ranked play cheaters and boosters in Call of Duty: Warzone. Team Ricochet has banned accounts caught in this sweep, and leaderboards have been purged. A similar set of detections is in flight to target ranked play cheaters in MW3 multiplayer.”
The Impact on Warzone Leaderboards
The high numbers of cheaters have been a significant issue for ranked Warzone players for some time. Many players scoured the leaderboards, identifying accounts with unusual SR gains and impossible win/loss ratios. For example, one Reddit user highlighted that the resurgence ranked leaderboard was flooded with boosters. The accompanying image showed an account at rank two with an almost perfect record of positive SR gains from 18 games.
Issues with Shadow Bans and Voice Chat
While Activision’s efforts to combat cheating are commendable, some glaring issues remain, particularly with the shadow-ban system. This system relies on players reporting suspicious activities, resulting in a temporary ban of up to 14 days. Often, highly skilled players find themselves unjustly shadow-banned, causing significant frustration within the community.
Despite these efforts, the community is urging Activision to address these systemic issues more effectively. One player aptly noted, “Fix your shadow ban and voice chat system. How are you guys this blind? Are they forcing you to make skins? You can speak out. It’s safe.”
Overall, the recent crackdowns are a step in the right direction, but ongoing vigilance and improvements are necessary to ensure a fair gameplay environment.