Modern Warfare 3 coming to Xbox Game Pass may have backfired for console players

Modified Jul 28, 2024 15:54 GMT

A veiled Operator in Modern Warfare 3 crouching with a rifle — Modern Warfare 3 sees rise in cheaters after its launch on Xbox Game Pass (Image via Activision)

Modern Warfare 3 was recently added to the Xbox Game Pass and the move might just have backfired for console users. When users play MW3 or Warzone using the Game Pass on PC, the game recognizes them as Xbox players. While it might seem pretty harmless, cheaters have found a way to abuse this system, allowing them to bypass the anti-cheat measures and use cheats freely in-game.

This article will offer a closer look at the entire fiasco surrounding Modern Warfare 3 joining the Xbox Game Pass and its aftermath.

Disclaimer: We do not support or condone the use of cheats in any game. Players are encouraged to enjoy the game as intended by developers.

Modern Warfare 3 cheaters are bypassing Ricochet on PC through Xbox Game Pass

Modern Warfare 3 joining the Xbox Game Pass was widely appreciated at first. But things took a wrong turn when cheaters started abusing a simple workaround, that allowed them to cheat on PC bypassing all the anti-cheat measures. So what went wrong?

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The answer is quite simple. When PC users play Modern Warfare 3 or Warzone through the Xbox Game Pass, the game detects them as Xbox players. As mentioned earlier, this looks quite harmless. However, things are never as simple as they always seem to be.

Console players, be it on the Xbox or PlayStation platforms, are not subject to the strict anti-cheat measures imposed on PC players. While the software is tuned to detect cheating hardware like Cronus, the anti-cheat doesn't work for soft cheats such as aimbots, wallhacks, or unlock tools.

But that doesn't mean cheaters on console (which is quite rare), are immune as Ricochet is still in the picture, and with sufficient evidence, they can get banned.

Also read: Call of Duty may have used AI in Warzone and MW3

However, since PC users playing the game via Game Pass are detected as console players, Ricochet doesn't make checks for any soft cheats. This allows cheaters to bypass the anti-cheat system on PC and use cheats in-game.

This was confirmed by the developer of a cheating tool called VIP Chair, who has claimed that their tool could be used on Game Pass, bypassing Ricochet and thus, allowing its users to cheat without consequences on PC. But there's more to it. As the game recognizes these users as Xbox players, other players tend to not doubt them, since cheating on a console is nearly impossible.

So how is this bad news for console players? The answer is crossplay. Unlike PC players, console users have the option to turn off crossplay. As a result, the Game Pass users playing on PC might get matched with console users, despite the latter turning off crossplay, allowing them to cheat against the console players.

Although Call of Duty has yet to address the issue, the fix should be quite simple. All Call of Duty needs to do at the moment is prevent the PC users on the Game Pass from being detected as Xbox players. This will subject them to the Ricochet anti-cheat and it can diffuse the situation relatively quickly.

That covers everything that you need to know about Modern Warfare 3 joining the Xbox Game Pass and its aftermath.

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Edited by Arundhoti Palit