By Sagar V. Mankar 
To combat cheating, Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 developer Treyarch has strengthened its anti-cheat systems, resulting in the removal of 136,000 players from both Black Ops 6 and Warzone. This massive ban wave comes alongside several important updates to the game’s security features.
Working together with partner studios Raven Software, Beenox, and Demonware, Treyarch has acknowledged the frustration cheaters cause in the community and has responded with concrete actions.
The development team has improved their cheat detection systems, particularly focusing on identifying aim botting – a common form of cheating where players use software to automatically aim at opponents.
The updated security measures now include better account trust systems and enhanced hardware identification methods. These improvements help the game track repeat offenders more effectively, preventing them from simply creating new accounts after being banned.
When someone gets banned, the game now automatically investigates other accounts they frequently played with, helping to identify boosting networks and organized cheating groups.
Interestingly, the team clarified that their Ricochet anti-cheat system deliberately avoids IP-based bans. This decision prevents entire households or groups sharing the same IP address from being unfairly punished when only one member is cheating.
Looking ahead to 2025, several new security features are planned:
Season 2 Updates:
- Enhanced client and server-side detection systems
- Improved kernel-level driver security
- Stronger encryption processes
- New tampering detection system
Season 3 and Beyond:
- A new player authentication system (details to be revealed closer to launch)
The developers have also addressed the issue of false reporting. Some players, frustrated after losing matches, repeatedly report others without a valid reason. Others use illegal software to spam thousands of reports. The game now has a sophisticated system that counts only one report per player, regardless of how many times they click the report button
The development team further stated that these updates are just part of a larger strategy. This strategy includes Activision’s legal actions against cheat sellers and continuous improvements to detection systems.
For context, this investment in anti-cheat technology comes as no surprise given the scale of Call of Duty’s development. Recent reports revealed that individual Call of Duty titles developed between 2015 and 2020 each cost Activision between $450 million and $700 million to create.
Sources: COD Community Update