Call of Duty has promised a “faster and stronger” iteration of Ricochet anti-cheat with Modern Warfare 3, including new mechanics to ruin hackers’ games and, hopefully, deter cheaters even further.
Hacking has been a major problem in Call of Duty for some time, especially with the launch of Warzone battle royale in March 2020, which brought cheaters to the forefront and absolutely took Verdansk by storm before the Ricochet anti-cheat was created and implemented into the game.
While it has been by no means perfect, the system has been great in countering hackers most of the time — but, of course, many still slip through the cracks, and can often be caught cheating for higher placements in ranked modes or even just ruining other’s games.
But, with updates coming for MW3, that could be set to change.
Activision promise “faster and stronger” anti-cheat
In an announcement on November 9, the day before the game’s official launch date, Call of Duty explained that with new Machine Learning advancements, “Ricochet is preparing for the launch of Modern Warfare III with a stronger and faster process to combat cheating.”
The aim is not only to target hackers and banish them on a more widespread and consistent level but to target them much quicker.
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To prepare for the launch of #MW3, #TeamRICOCHET has taken a stronger initiative to combat cheating using new Machine Learning advancements and moreDrop into the #CODBlog to learn more 👉 https://t.co/QHLQQQHspk pic.twitter.com/NjMTiY5b4A
— Call of Duty (@CallofDuty) November 9, 2023
Anti-cheat ‘Splat’ mechanic
They will also be introducing a new ‘Splat’ mechanic, intended to troll verified Warzone cheaters by doing pretty much exactly what it sounds like.
With Splat, if a cheater is discovered, they” may randomly, and for fun, disable their parachute sending them careening into the ground after they deploy.” If the cheater is caught after they’ve deployed, Splat can also adjust player velocity, which “transforms a bunny hop into a 10,000-foot drop taking them out instantly.”
However, Splat won’t randomly turn on for a player that isn’t verified to be cheating. Player reporting won’t turn it on, and the game can’t accidentally activate it, meaning this will be for players who have been proven beyond doubt to be hacking in Warzone.
These changes are expected to take place alongside the launch of Modern Warfare 3, so there should be discernible improvements almost straight away.