Call of Duty Anti-Cheat Teased With Cryptic Message To Hackers

Call of Duty tweeted a cryptic message reminding its followers of its commitment to ending cheating in its games, with more info coming tomorrow.

Editor’s Note: A lawsuit has been filed against Call of Duty publisher Activision Blizzard by the California Department of Fair Employment and Housing, which alleges the company has engaged in abuse, discrimination, and retaliation against its female employees. Activision Blizzard has denied the allegations. The full details of the Activision Blizzard lawsuit (content warning: rape, suicide, abuse, harassment) are being updated as new information becomes available.

Cheaters aren’t fun, and game developers seem as fed up with them as players – if Call of Duty’s cryptic message to hackers that went out today is any indication. Those who hack games often seek an unfair advantage in competitive games, and given that Call of Duty is one of the more popular competitive shooter franchises, the series’ games regularly have their share of cheaters. Vanguard hackers can end matches at the press of a button, and the game isn’t even released yet. As a result, the Call of Duty franchise has repeatedly publicized its commitment to leveling the playing field.

Hacks take many different forms; and in Call of Duty, some cheaters use aimbots to gain a competitive edge. While some of these hackers find themselves exposed and banned, others manage to slip through the cracks. Players do what they can to report those they suspect of (or can confirm are) cheating, and developers try to implement new features or systems to catch cheating before it can ruin any legitimate player’s experience. A few months back, Activision confirmed a rumored anti-cheat system was in the works for both Call of Duty: Warzone and Call of Duty: Vanguard, which will hopefully help this persistent issue.

Related: Activision Cracking Down On Selling Hacked Warzone Accounts

More information on this new system has been sparse, but now the Call of Duty Twitter account has posted a cryptic message promising that news is coming. While the message is mostly just a repudiation of cheaters and the effect they have on the games, it also includes the line, “See you tomorrow” – teasing some sort of official announcement. Presumably this will be the anti-cheat system that Activision confirmed, though the tweet’s warning tone begs some questions as to what tomorrow will bring. In the meantime, hackers who’ve been caught in Warzone will also be banned from Vanguard, so that should somewhat help the issue.

The developers of the Call of Duty games appear to be doing what they can by banning en masse those who can be found cheating. Anti-cheat software, whatever it looks like, will hopefully aid developers’ crusade. That being said, anti-cheat systems can occasionally impact gameplay. Much has been said of anti-piracy software – like Denuvo – that may also be responsible for negatively affecting the performance of games. Several games, including recent classics like Deathloop, have been review-bombed on Steam for poor performance, which players appeared to link to Denuvo.

Tomorrow, this mystery will be solved as Call of Duty makes the announcement it promised. Given Call of Duty: Vanguard is launching in a crowded window for other shooters – including new entries in Halo and Battlefield – it’s likely ease of play will set these games apart. However, Call of Duty lobbies may be found to be a bit vacant if cheaters are allowed to continue prospering.

Next: Call Of Duty: Warzone Has Banned Over 500,000 Cheaters

Source: Call of Duty/Twitter

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