Call of Duty has been battling against cheaters for more than ten years. In 2021, Activision introduced a special anti-cheat system called ‘RICOCHET’ to fight against cheating in the game. Despite ongoing improvements to their anti-cheat technology, cheating remains a problem in games like Modern Warfare 3 (MW3) and Warzone in 2024.
Just before Season 3 started, Activision announced that they had banned 27,000 accounts due to cheating. They mentioned that more bans were expected. On April 10, they confirmed that they had indeed banned another 58,000 cheating players. This means that over 85,000 accounts were banned within just five days.
Activision says over 27,000 accounts were banned in Call of Duty, across Warzone and MW3, over the weekend.
Statement from Team RICOCHET:
“#TeamRICOCHET identified and banned over 27,000 accounts over the weekend through a series of upgraded detection systems. The team is… pic.twitter.com/PPMXbsuEH7
— CharlieIntel (@charlieINTEL) April 8, 2024
An Activision spokesperson explained to CharlieIntel that players should not trust cheaters who try to sell subscriptions to cheating tools. They emphasized that their anti-cheat team, Team RICOCHET, is actively targeting cheat vendors.
As Season 3 began and more ban waves occurred, some players in the community complained that they were wrongly banned. This was especially true for those who used unlock tools, which can lead to permanent bans.
If you have been permanently banned in Call of Duty, Activision has stated that permanent bans are final, and there are “no false permanent bans.” pic.twitter.com/vO97HO77ob
— CharlieIntel (@charlieINTEL) April 10, 2024
In response to these complaints, Activision clarified to CharlieIntel that permanent bans in Call of Duty are not mistakes. They stated that all permanent bans are final, and there are no false permanent bans according to their policies.