Activision has announced an expansion of its Ricochet anti-cheat protections for Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 and Warzone 2. The update, which arrives during Season 5, focuses on enhancing hardware ban capabilities to better address sophisticated, discreet exploits currently affecting the game's Ranked modes.
Quick Facts
- Bans Issued: More than 293,000 accounts have been banned year-to-date through June 2026.
- Detection Methods: Approximately 99.89% of enforcement actions are driven by internal data, investigations, and automated monitoring, rather than community-submitted video clips.
- Technology: The system employs a kernel-level driver to identify unauthorized third-party software on player systems.
Targeting Discreet Exploits
According to the developer, cheaters have become increasingly calculated, often deploying tools for specific instances to avoid detection. This shift in behavior has made manual reporting less effective, with public video clips accounting for only 0.11% of total enforcement actions. Activision notes that the vast majority of bans are the result of comprehensive server-side analysis and internal monitoring efforts that occur behind the scenes.
The publisher emphasized that while they are actively banning accounts, they sometimes delay the deployment of specific enforcement actions. This strategic timing is intended to prevent exploiters from quickly adapting to the latest defensive measures, keeping the game's protection framework ahead of new cheat developments.
By expanding hardware ban capabilities, the team aims to make it significantly more difficult for repeat offenders to create new accounts. These measures are designed to act as a deterrent against the high-level malicious behavior currently impacting competitive play.