An update to the Call of Duty terms of service has made clear that cheating in the game will not be tolerated going forward, with a new policy outlining that cheaters will be banned from all Call of Duty games going forward — including titles yet to be made.
‘Permanent suspensions for security infractions may now apply franchise wide, including Call of Duty: Vanguard as well as any past, present, and future titles in the Call of Duty franchise,’ the Ricochet Anti-Cheat team said in an update.
It appears Sledgehammer and Activision are taking a hardline stance in extreme cases to prevent players from being unfairly advantaged. While long-term suspensions will only be handed out in unique circumstances, the studio has made clear that they can be applied even to players that attempt to ‘hide, disguise, or obfuscate [their] identity.’
‘All our anti-cheat efforts are focused on fighting unfair play and protecting the player experience,’ the Anti-Cheat team said.
While it’s unclear how the process will work, ‘permanent’ bans will now apply into the future. This means players who cheat will not be allowed to return to the Call of Duty franchise.
Read: Call of Duty: Vanguard Campaign Review – War never changes
Past Call of Duty games, including Vanguard, have had major issues with cheaters. Ahead of Vanguard‘s launch, wily players were offering ‘lifetime’ access to hacks for the game which allowed anyone to instantly end matches, overpower their weapons or become invincible.
The cheats essentially allowed players to win matches without ever lifting a finger.
Now, it appears those plans will be foiled.
As detailed by the Anti-Cheat team, Call of Duty titles will now include a ‘kernel-level driver’ on PC which searches for any cheat codes in the system. Essentially this is a program that will detect when players are attempting to cheat, and thwart their efforts before they begin.
Going forward, the battlefields of Call of Duty should be much ‘safer’ places — but cheaters have been known to find all kinds of ways to circumvent anti-cheating measures, so we’ll have to wait to see how effective this change will be.
