Fact check: Is RICOCHET Anti-Cheat coming to Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 and Warzone 2.0

Call of Duty's most fan-favorite title, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, is getting a remake and making its return on October 28, 2022. The original title is loved by all; courtesy of its overpowered weapons, loadouts, memorable missions, and storytelling, the game has become an all-time classic.

Multiplayer games are in a good place right now, with new battle royales as well PvP games being released every year. However, one negative that has come into play with a surge in multiplayer games involves cheaters. Cheating and exploiting is a difficult process to deal with, both for players as well as developers, and even the best anti-cheat cannot fully protect players against such annoyances.

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Will Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 and Warzone 2.0 come with the RICOCHET Anti-Cheat to mitigate cheating?

With Call of Duty: Modern Warfare and the new Warzone 2.0 all set to release in October, fans are a bit concerned about the possibility of cheaters and exploiters ruining the multiplayer experience these games have got to offer. Such a concern is understandable since Warzone used to have a major hacker problem.

Luckily, Activision has taken action against cheaters in current games.

RICOCHET Anti-Cheat is the current anti-cheat that is being used in Call of Duty’s current titles. On PCs, it's a kernel-level driver that aims to deliver the best anti-cheat experience by deeply monitoring gameplay, as well as programs that could be running in the background. This monitoring helps the anti-cheat determine whether a player is using any third-party tools that facilitate an unfair advantage.

"RICOCHET Anti-Cheat continues to get smarter and better as time progresses."

Activision has confirmed in a recent blog post regarding the RICOCHET Anti-Cheat June progress report that the anti-cheat will be live from "Day One" when the new Modern Warfare 2 and Warzone 2.0 are released.

Activision claims that, unfortunately, players might encounter cheaters when the titles get released. But the company also claims that the RICOCHET Anti-Cheat will get better and smarter with time, providing fans with hope that these games might never have to go through what Warzone went through.

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The current state of RICOCHET Anti-Cheat

Activision explained that cheaters will be facing a shadow ban if the anti-cheat detects them using any unfair tactics. These shadow bans involve Damage Shield, Cloaking, and Disarm.

Damage Shield, as explained by Activision, is when the anti-cheat detects a player is cheating and ensures their enemies — players the game as it's meant to be played — take less damage. This could allow for a fair fighting chance as the cheater wastes ammo while dealing low damage.

"This has been the fan favorite in the community since we announced it because it registers for both players."

Cloaking, as the name suggests, makes the enemy player invisible to the cheater. According to Activison this is what it does,

"Protect players by hiding them from a cheater’s POV, making it impossible for cheaters to track them regardless of proximity."

Disarm is a sort of time-out that cheaters will face once they have been detected by the anti-cheat system. This would leave them disarmed for a limited time, causing them to be unable to engage in combat by any means.

Activision is excited to see the RICOCHET Anti-Cheat's progress in their upcoming titles, claiming:

"Selfishly, we can’t wait to see how Damage Shield, Cloaking, Disarm and our other tricks look in a modern setting."

Hopefully, when the new games are released, they'll offer a level playing field so the they can be enjoyed by all those who purchased them.