Activision has dropped a huge warning to Call of Duty players against using cheats.
They shared this message on Twitter:
“A message from #TeamRicochet: Any attempt to unlock or equip camos through exploits or unauthorized methods will result in account enforcement. We have issued temporary bans to accounts in violation of the Call of Duty Security and Enforcement Policy, for having equipped weapon camos not legitimately obtainable in Multiplayer and Warzone.
Do not trust any suspicious websites or offers for in-game items such as COD Points, cosmetic items, add-ons, or other digital content. Also, avoid services that offer leveling up or other artificial game progression services. Not only are these services in violation of our Terms of Use, they can also lead to a compromised account and expose your personal information. Play fair and keep your accounts secure. Check out these links for details and best practices.”
You can read about how to secure your Activision account here and the Call of Duty Security and Enforcement Policy here.
Of course, this warning comes days before Call of Duty Warzone launches the return of Verdansk this April 3, 2025. Activision didn’t just issue this warning to generally keep the Verdansk launch safe, though. In fact, a lot of players, including content creators and esports players, have been complaining about cheaters continuing to thrive in Call of Duty’s online modes for months now.
This has been a particularly big issue since the release of Call of Duty Black Ops 6, which is the most successful launch of the entire franchise, and had a clear positive upshot for Microsoft’s Game Pass service. Team Ricochet has been denying a lot of these claims, but they have also been disclosing cases of cheating and taking action when applicable.
For people who don’t play the game, and probably for many casual players, it’s hard to tell how true it is that cheating adversely affects the Call of Duty online experience. But there was a rumor at the start of the month that Activision might shut down Call of Duty Warzone completely if Verdansk doesn’t perform as well as they hope.
This all means that Activision has been working to make Verdansk as huge an update as possible. Of course, that’s also the reason why cheaters are looking to capitalize on the opportunity as well. But then, if Ricochet’s anti-cheat is as compromised as players allege it is, then this may be an empty warning. But we’ll see how it all plays out next month.
