Call of Duty Is Taking Its Anti-Cheat Fight to Cheat Sellers
Activision says its effort has disrupted more than 375 cheat reseller operations, including 30 vendor shutdowns, while Elocarry paused Call of Duty sales.
Call of Duty’s anti-cheat fight has moved past detection systems and account bans. During the recent Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4 closed beta, bodycam footage captured a cease-and-desist letter being served to an alleged operator behind Elocarry, a cheat provider associated with the series.
The footage appears to show an attorney or process server arriving at a home in Ohio, ringing the doorbell, and handing paperwork to the alleged cheat maker. When asked what the document was, the visitor identified it as a cease-and-desist notice from Activision’s attorneys and directed the recipient to contact the lawyer involved. Activision described the clip as an excerpt from a real recording, but the person’s face is blurred, their name is redacted, and the video does not establish their identity or provide the full legal context behind the notice.
Activision says the visit was one of 80 cease-and-desist letters served on its behalf. The company also reported that it had disrupted more than 375 cheat reseller operations, with 30 vendors shutting down. Activision did not specify the period covered by those totals, so they are not limited to the current beta.
Activision said its RICOCHET campaign is pursuing cheat sellers around the world, with litigation available when necessary. The publisher’s official warning makes the intended target clear: developers and sellers can find themselves dealing with Activision’s lawyers, not just account bans.
Elocarry’s team said it had temporarily paused sales and availability for Call of Duty products as a precaution. An official Call of Duty post showed what appeared to be the provider informing customers that operations had been paused. No date was given for a possible return, leaving the service unavailable for the time being.
Ricochet reports fewer cheat-infected matches
RICOCHET Anti-Cheat has been part of Call of Duty’s anti-cheat efforts since 2021 and runs at the kernel level of the operating system, giving it a privileged position from which to detect cheating software. The anti-cheat team also pointed to better results during the first Modern Warfare 4 closed beta, reporting fewer cheat-infected matches, faster action against detected cheating, and fewer apparent repeat offenders. Hardware bans were also harder to evade than before.
Those results arrived as the free open beta weekend got underway on August 28. The test is running across all platforms through September 1 and includes multiplayer content as well as a campaign level. The official Weekend Two briefing covers the campaign content and beta lineup.
The second weekend also began with gameplay adjustments covering movement, spawns, gunfights, and other systems. Our Modern Warfare 4 beta update breaks down those changes. On PC, players need TPM 2.0 and Secure Boot to access the beta.
Activision is targeting the supply side of cheating as well as the players who use the software. The message to vendors is simple. Building and selling cheats can put them directly in the publisher’s sights.
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4 is scheduled to launch on October 23, with campaign early access for preorder customers beginning October 16.
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Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4
Developed by Infinity Ward
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4 is a first-person shooter and the follow-up to Modern Warfare III (2023), continuing the rebooted Modern Warfare storyline. The campaign is set during a North Korean invasion of South Korea and features dual perspectives: a young South Korean soldier named Private Park facing his first combat deployment, and Captain Price operating outside official channels on a personal mission. The game also includes multiplayer with 6v6 core maps, large-scale vehicle combat maps, and a dynamic map system called Kill Block that reshapes layouts between rounds. A DMZ extraction mode is also featured. The game is released exclusively on current-generation platforms and PC.
- Genre Shooter
- Platforms Xbox Series X|S, Nintendo Switch 2, PC (Microsoft Windows), PlayStation 5
- Perspective First person
- Modes Single player, Multiplayer, Co-operative
- Release October 23, 2026
- Publisher Activision
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Age Rating
