Bad news for Call of Duty cheaters. If you’re using aim assist while playing with mouse and keyboard, the Ricochet anti-cheat software will now close the game upon detection. This affects all current games in the ecosystem, including Modern Warfare III, Warzone, and Modern Warfare II.
Announced on January 16 by the Call of Duty Updates account on X (formerly known as Twitter), the update says that “repeated use of these tools may lead to further account action,” although it’s unclear how many times you’d have to cheat to be penalized, and the severity of each instance.
This new anti-cheat method is merely the latest iteration of Ricochet’s fight against aim botters. Back in November of last year, Activision promised a “stronger and faster process” to counter cheaters. This encompassed the use of machine learning, as well as a system called Splat where players will lose their parachutes and crash down onto the map to their death if Ricochet detects malicious activity.
As of December 22nd, Ricochet deployed new Machine Learning detections, while Splat was activated over 2,000 times since launch. Moreover, over 23,000 accounts were banned for cheating since November 12th. As Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III gears up for the Season 1 Reloaded update, it seems cheaters will have a harder time getting perfect killstreaks without any skill.