It’s not every day that a gaming giant like Activision holds up its hands and admits, “Hey, we messed up.” But here we are, folks! After the chaotic launch of Black Ops 6, it seems the anti-cheat measures just didn’t cut it. If you’ve been grinding Ranked Play lately, you know exactly what I’m talking about.
In a recent blog post on the Call of Duty site, Activision revealed what’s next for Team RICOCHET, the brave souls behind those much-ballyhooed anti-cheat mechanics. Let’s say they’re feeling the heat after an avalanche of cheaters crashed into the game right at launch.
Missing the Mark
Here’s a tasty nugget from their update:
After a series of updates our systems are in a better place today across all modes; however, we did not hit the mark for the integration of RICOCHET Anti-Cheat at the launch of Season 01, particularly for Ranked Play.
The reality is this: Cheaters see Ranked Play as their golden ticket to fame and glory, and who can blame them? The leaderboard looks pretty enticing when you’re racking up kills unfairly. Activision got real in their statement:
We understand the promise of glory and notoriety from Ranked Play leaderboards makes Ranked Play an attractive target for cheaters. For this reason, our teams have been especially focused on turning the tide to deliver the competitive arena our players seek.
Spoiler alert: They’re working hard on it! They’ve already banned over 19,000 accounts, a staggering number that might make even your grandma clutch her pearls!
A few key changes are rolling out soon, too. Expect ‘increased velocity’ on suspensions, speeding up how fast they can boot these cheaters outta your games, and some AI training enhancements aimed at sniffing out bad actors before they ruin another match.
As we prepare for Seasons 02 and 03 in both Black Ops 6 and Warzone, the kernel-level driver and server-side protections are also getting some serious TLC. If you want more details straight from the horse’s mouth (or Activision’s blog?), check it out here. Don’t forget, they want players to keep reporting cheaters whenever possible because automated systems can only do so much!
