MW3 & Warzone players claim bans aren’t enough following anti-cheat update

Aakash Regmi
Ghost executing player in MW3 Rust

Ever since the release of Season 2, there has been an influx of cheaters in MW3 and Warzone, and developers recently issued a statement addressing it. Players don’t appear impressed by the update and are calling the statement “meaningless.” 

Season 2 of MW3 and Warzone added plenty of things, from guns to maps. It also saw a massive outburst of hackers that are now running rampant across all modes, be it Ranked Play or battle royale. Players have started to even question the legitimacy of the RICOCHET anti-cheat engine, given the increase in cheaters. 

Despite all the changes and improvements made to the anti-cheat engine over the years, it has always struggled to curb the cheating problem. Cheaters have now become one of the major frustrations for Season 2, and as the number of complaints piled up, Activision posted a statement on February 21 saying they’ve banned over 6,000 accounts.

But players think that just banning accounts isn’t enough, and believe it won’t accomplish anything.

On CharlieIntel’s X (formerly Twitter) post sharing Activision’s anti-cheat statement, many players appear unhappy, calling RICOCHET “garbage.” Fans pointed out that 6,000 isn’t nearly enough as there are more cheaters, and a simple ban can be avoided by just making a new account.

A user wrote, “6,000 out of what like 500k?” Even former pro, streamer, and 100 Thieves CEO Matthew ‘Nadeshot’ Haag chimed in and expressed his frustration: “Ricochet is absolutely terrible, and regardless of [the] data shared with the community, it’s not working.”

Elsewhere on Reddit, on both the MW3 and Warzone subreddits, the sentiment is the same, with players asking for a stricter measure. As user TheOublietteOfLife commented, “They don’t hardware ban these idiots so they’ll just make a new account anyway. What does this even accomplish? Didn’t cheat providers just have a free weekend and they only banned 6k players? Seems low honestly.”

Many weren’t at all flattered by the statement calling the update a “meaningless post.” Another player said, “6,000 cheaters were forced to login to their alt accounts and continue cheating, you’re welcome.” Others more or less said the same: “Who gives a f**k about how many accounts you banned when they just create new ones.”

RICOCHET has received updates over the years and will continue to get more. Players are hoping that it’ll tighten up the security and that the game will see fewer cheaters. 

For more on MW3 and Warzone, check out all that awaits with Season 3, as well as the most popular guns in Season 2.

About The Author

Aakash Regmi is a Games Writer at CharlieIntel and primarily covers Genshin Impact, Call of Duty, and major racing games. Before joining CharlieIntel in July 2023, he wrote for Collider, Hard Drive, DualShockers, and Try Hard Guides. You can contact him at [email protected].