Activision Curbs Call of Duty Crossplay Cheating

Activision has responded to player concerns regarding cheating in Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 and Warzone, announcing plans to allow console players in Ranked Play to disable crossplay with PC players. The prevalence of cheating since the introduction of Ranked Play in Season 1 of 2024 has sparked significant outrage within the community, with many citing it as a detriment to competitive gameplay.

Activision's Team Ricochet acknowledged shortcomings in their initial anti-cheat implementation for Season 1, stating that they "did not hit the mark" for Ranked Play integration. However, a recent blog post details their 2025 anti-cheat strategy, revealing over 136,000 Ranked Play account bans since the mode's launch. Season 2 will introduce improved client and server-side detection systems, along with a major kernel-level driver update. Further advancements, including a new player authentication system designed to target cheaters, are promised for Season 3 and beyond, though specifics are being withheld to avoid assisting cheat developers.

A key immediate change with Season 2 is the introduction of crossplay disabling for console players in Ranked Play for Black Ops 6 and Warzone. This addresses the widely held belief that a significant portion of cheating originates from PC players, a concern that has led console players to routinely disable crossplay in standard Multiplayer for years. Activision will closely monitor the impact of this change and consider further adjustments to maintain game integrity.

While Activision's anti-cheat efforts are often met with skepticism, the company has invested heavily in Ricochet, pursuing legal action against cheat makers with several high-profile successes. Prior to Black Ops 6's launch, Activision aimed for sub-one-hour detection and removal of cheaters, implementing an updated kernel-level driver and machine-learning systems to combat aimbots. They acknowledge the sophisticated and organized nature of cheat developers, highlighting the ongoing arms race and their commitment to identifying and removing cheaters through continuous analysis of in-game data.