Activision has taken decisive steps to address the rampant issue of cheating in *Call of Duty: Black Ops 6* and *Warzone*, following intense community backlash. The problem became particularly acute with the introduction of Ranked Play in Season 1 last year, with many players feeling that cheating was undermining the competitive integrity of multiplayer modes. In response, Activision's Team Ricochet, the anti-cheat division, admitted that the initial integration of Ricochet Anti-Cheat at Season 1's launch fell short, especially in Ranked Play.

In a recent blog post, Activision unveiled its comprehensive strategy to combat cheating throughout 2025. Since the launch of Ranked Play, the company has already banned over 136,000 accounts. With Season 2 on the horizon, Activision promises enhanced client and server-side detection systems, along with a significant update to the kernel-level driver. Looking ahead to Season 3 and beyond, Activision teased the introduction of cutting-edge technology, including a new system designed to authenticate legitimate players and pinpoint cheaters. Details were kept under wraps to prevent cheat developers from gaining insights into these new measures.

A notable short-term change coming with Season 2 is the option for console players to disable crossplay in *Black Ops 6* and *Warzone* Ranked Play. This move is aimed at addressing the prevalent issue of cheating, which is often more common on PC platforms. Console players have long opted out of crossplay in standard Multiplayer to avoid cheaters, and now Ranked players will have the same option.

“We'll be monitoring closely and will consider further changes to prioritize the integrity of the ecosystem, and we’ll have more details to share as we get closer to the launch of this feature,” Activision stated, signaling ongoing efforts to refine their approach.

Despite these updates, skepticism remains among the *Call of Duty* community, a reaction typical of any major anti-cheat announcement. Cheating has been a persistent challenge for Activision, particularly since the massive success of the free-to-play *Warzone* in 2020. The company has invested heavily in anti-cheat technology and legal actions against cheat developers, achieving several high-profile victories.

Before the launch of *Black Ops 6*, Activision set an ambitious goal to remove cheaters from matches within an hour of their first game. The game was released with an updated kernel-level driver for Ricochet, coupled with new machine-learning systems focused on rapid detection and analyzing gameplay to counter aim bots.

"The people behind cheats are organized, illegal groups that pick apart every piece of data within our games to look for some way to make cheating possible," Activision explained. "These bad guys are not just some script kiddies poking around with code they found online. They are a collective who profit from exploiting the hard work of game developers across the industry.

"But cheat developers are flawed (clearly — they have to pretend to be good at video games). Every time they cheat, they leave breadcrumbs behind. We’re always looking for those breadcrumbs to find the bad actors and get them out of the game."