Infinity Ward brings down the ban hammer on 50k Warzone cheaters
Fubarred.
It's been out for less than a month, yet it seems like Call of Duty: Warzone already has a bit of a cheating problem - particularly on PC. A quick browse through the Modern Warfare subreddit will bring up dozens of examples of wall hacking and aimbots. It's prompted some console players to opt out of cross-play entirely for fear of being lumped in with cheaters on the PC version. Just take a look at the end of one game from the perspective of a hacker, or the person showing off their Warzone hacks on TikTok.
The Cheating is Getting Ridiculous from r/CODWarzone
Hacker in Warzone offering to help others cheat. Can we get this to the top so developers can see? Name and Shame. from r/CODWarzone
The speed at which these hacks have appeared is likely because Warzone is attached to Call of Duty: Modern Warfare - a game that's been out since October last year, giving dubious characters plenty of time to develop hacks. But last night Infinity Ward unveiled further plans to address the problem in Warzone specifically, saying it has a "zero-tolerance" policy towards cheaters, and has been working hard to punish them.
"We have been enforcing account bans since day one of Warzone's release," explained the blog post. "To date, we [have] issued more than 50k permabans worldwide."
To put that in context, as of 20th March, Warzone had a player base of 30m - although it's likely that number has since increased. The measures currently in place to catch cheaters include 24/7 security teams to monitor behaviour, such as identifying "aimbots, wallhacks and more", along with an automated report system that filters submissions "based on key data".
Infinity Ward recognises there's still work to be done to improve the situation: the currently-awkward report system (which requires players to go into the recent players tab of the main menu) is set to be streamlined to make the option easier to find. To keep players informed of progress, Infinity Ward will provide a "regular count" on the latest number of bans handed out.
"Simply put there's no place for cheating. We recognize that there's no single solution for combating cheaters, it's a constant enforcement every day, 24/7. Rest assured, we're committed to ensuring a fun and fair experience for everyone."
Let's hope Infinity Ward manages to weed out most of the cheaters. Even if it removes my easy excuse for getting shot.