Activision’s anti-cheat software, Ricochet, was falsely banning legitimate players, causing a stir in the Call of Duty community as people spoke out about how they were penalized when they did nothing wrong. Activision recently owned up to this, saying only a “small number” of legitimate players were impacted for Modern Warfare III and Warzone, and those who were impacted have had their bans reversed.
So what happened here? Activision said players found a workaround in a Ricochet detection system for Modern Warfare III and Warzone that allowed them to target legitimate players. In essence, people found a way to go after people they wanted to see get banned, even if they did nothing wrong.
All legitimate accounts that were impacted have been restored, Activision said, going on to further note that it will conduct an “examination of our systems” to try to prevent this from happening again.
Activision has always said it’s impossible to keep cheaters at bay completely, as smart and dedicated bad actors never stop in their efforts to cheat and otherwise negatively affect the experience. Ricochet, through its use of artificial intelligence systems and other means, has effectively cracked down on cheating in the latest Call of Duty games, but it is a never-ending battle.
📢 #MW3 #Warzone #TeamRicochet
RICOCHET Anti-Cheat identified and disabled a workaround to a detection system in Modern Warfare III and Call of Duty: Warzone that impacted a small number of legitimate player accounts. We have restored all accounts that were impacted. An…— Call of Duty Updates (@CODUpdates) October 17, 2024
Popular Call of Duty streamer BobbyPoff was among the legitimate players who had their account banned due to this, as people used the Ricochet workaround to convince the anti-cheat tools he was cheating when he was not. BobbyPoff said he didn’t get a public or private apology from Activision. “Imagine having your name drug through the mud for two weeks for something you never did and being offered zero explanation. Oh wait that was ME the past two weeks!!!” he wrote.
Activision will announce the latest details on Ricochet’s updates and improvements for Black Ops 6 later today, October 18, so keep checking back for more. For more on Black Ops 6, check out the first details on the new UI and how to preload.
