Activision Bans 60,000 Warzone Cheaters, Promises Anti-Cheat Improvements

In March of 2020, Call of Duty: Warzone launched as a semi-standalone, free-to-play Battle Royale experience based on the current primary release, Modern Warfare. Since then, Warzone has amassed millions of players and become a cultural phenomenon. Unfortunately, the never-ending battle against cheaters is only amplified with this many total players.

In the year that Warzone has been available, Activision and Infinity Ward seldom commented on the ongoing situation, despite ever-growing concerns of players who feel that cheaters are becoming a larger issue day by day.

In the recent weeks, several community figures, such as Vikkstar and NickMercs, have expressed their immense frustration with the situation and vowed to step away from the game for the time being. This prompted Activision and the current communication-leading studio Raven Software to issue a statement.

Call of Duty Anti-Cheat Programs Update

On February 3rd, Activision issued over 60,000 bans to players who were detected to be utilizing game-changing software for an unfair advantage. To date, its reported that over 300,000 permanent bans have been issued, a significant portion of the title's overall playbase.

Activision states that, since launch, the following actions have been taken in an effort to prevent cheats:

• Weekly backend security updates
• Improved in-game reporting mechanisms
• Added 2-factor authentication, which has invalidated over 180,000 suspect accounts
• Eliminated numerous unauthorized third party software providers
• Increased dedicated teams and resources across software development, engineering, data science, legal and monitoring

However, the teams recognize that improvements can be made in this area. The following changes are expected in the near future.

• Enhancements to our internal anti-cheat software
• Additional detection technology
• Adding new resources dedicated to monitoring and enforcement
• Regular communication updates on progress; more two-way dialogue
• Zero tolerance for cheat providers
• Consistent and timely bans

While these promises are enticing to say the least, a portion of the community is understandably concerned whether this will effectively eliminate the cheaters who are plaguing the current Warzone experience. Only time will tell if the teams at Activision and Raven are able to pull ahead in the fight.

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