Warzone devs respond to rise in cheating after MW3 Game Pass launch

Nathan Warby
MW3 player on Summit using Shotgun

Following the launch of MW3 on Xbox Game Pass, players reported a noticeable increase in the number of cheaters across multiplayer and Warzone. Now, the devs have responded to the boom and concerns that hackers are harder to spot.

Following the game’s launch on the subscription service on July 24, many fans quickly noticed an uptick in players using prohibited software to gain an advantage. This led many to question whether or not Activison’s RICOCHET Anti-Cheat software was working properly.

The team have now revealed that there was an issue with the system that has since been fixed. In an X post, they said: “RICOCHET Anti-Cheat resolved an issue with a detection system over the weekend, which resulted in a spike in cheater reports.”

MW3‘s Game Pass release has also caused corners that cheaters are harder to identify. This is because PC players need to use the Xbox App for Windows, which means they show up as Xbox users in-game rather than PC.

Luckily, in the same post, Activision also clarified that while it’s harder for those in-game to recognize cheaters, the anti-cheat system can still pick them out.

“For clarity, #TeamRICHOCHET is able to detect the specific platform for all users, despite how they may appear in-game,” said the devs. “If you suspect a player in your lobby is cheating, regardless of platform, we recommend you submit a report in-game for further investigation.”

As a rule, hacking is more common on PC platforms as it’s far easier to buy and install the software compared to consoles like PlayStation and Xbox. So, players often used the enemy’s platform to help them decide whether or not to report them.

Luckily, no matter what they are displayed as in-game, RICOCHET can still identify anyone using illegal software to gain an advantage, so players should report anyone they suspect might be cheating.

Activision ended the post by saying they “remain committed” to tackling this issue, which we saw recently with the lawsuit against EngineOwning before two more providers were shut down.