Due to a weak rollout of their exclusive anti-cheat system RICOCHET, Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 has been struggling with cheaters since the start of Season 1 in December. This includes scripting tools, unlock devices, and wall-hacking software, leading to an increased number of players coming across disruptive individuals exploiting third-party apps for an unfair advantage.
In spite of admitting data interruptions impacting the RICOCHET anti-cheat system, Activision and the creators behind Call of Duty faced criticism from both players and professionals, with many expressing their intention to leave Black Ops 6 and Warzone if there were no changes in the system.
A common demand from the gaming community using consoles has been for an option to turn off cross-platform play with PC users. This request stems from the belief that cheating is more prevalent on PC, as players there have simpler access to external applications that can secretly operate in the background.
As an observer, I’d put it this way: While console cheating isn’t entirely out of the question, it certainly requires a more committed cheater to pull off. To assuage suspicions about cheating among PC gamers, Treyarch has decided to split cross play for Black Ops 6’s Ranked Mode.
The steps for turning off cross play are the same in both Black Ops 6 and Warzone.
How to opt out of cross play in Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 and Warzone on Xbox
- From the Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 title splash screen, select Ranked Play.
- Press the Menu button on your Xbox Series X|S or Xbox One controller.
- From the drop-down menu on the right side of the screen, press right bumper to tab into the Settings menu.
- Select Account and Network from the Settings menu.
- On the Account and Network menu, select Ranked Crossplay.
- Another menu will drop down, providing you three options for Ranked Crossplay settings.
- On allows matchmaking with all other gaming platforms on Ranked playlists.
- On (Console Only) allows matchmaking between Xbox and PlayStation consoles when searching for matches in Ranked playlists.
- Off limits matchmaking exclusively to the console platform you are currently playing on.
- Select which option you prefer and Apply Settings. You may now back out to the lobby and search with your preferred platforms.
Little more than a workaround for lacking anti-cheat
It’s worth giving credit to Treyarch for listening to the concerns of the Call of Duty community and providing a solution for those struggling with their gameplay. Yet, splitting up the player base across different platforms is roughly equivalent to trying to mend a deep wound with a simple bandage.
Call of Duty would benefit more from an effective anti-cheat system rather than platform separation. The current anti-cheat method only safeguards console gamers by shielding them from potential cheaters on PC, but it doesn’t address the issues faced by PC players who might still encounter cheaters or problematic individuals unintentionally. Moreover, this solution doesn’t prevent console users from experiencing unpleasant interactions with other console users employing cheating hardware.
As an analyst, I must admit that RICOCHET, while having its merits, has also been a source of frustration. The launch of Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 was undeniably successful, but it wasn’t until the release of Season 1 that players started voicing concerns about widespread cheating. This suggests that RICOCHET functioned effectively at some point, at least to a degree that kept the community engaged without mass exodus. However, understanding when and why it broke down is the challenge.
There’s some worry that, with Treyarch concentrating on methods such as platform separation, we might never discover a truly effective anti-cheat system. This concern arises even before considering RICOCHET, a kernel-level driver, which has been known to incorrectly accuse players of cheating due to the use of RGB controllers. The incident involving CrowdStrike security software in June 2024, where a kernel-level bug led to an outage affecting 8.5 million PCs, has left many users skeptical about software that can access the Windows kernel, raising further concerns.
As Activision revealed their community update about RICOCHET in Black Ops 6 during Season 2, it’s clear that there’s still a lot of potential for refinement as this shooter game moves forward with its seasonal post-release content.
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2025-01-29 13:09