Call of Duty adds controversial 'spy' tool to combat cheating

Activision intends to rely on very intrusive software to fight against cheating in Call of Duty.

Cheating is a recurring topic among online game publishers. And, for several years, we have witnessed a veritable arms race – the idea being to integrate increasingly effective measures to prevent misguided people from causing harm. In a statement released on October 13, Activision unveiled its new weapon to combat Call of Duty cheaters. Her name ? Ricochet Anti-Cheat.

The publisher describes its tool as “a robust anti-cheat system backed by a dedicated team of professionals focused on combating unfair gaming.” It revolves in particular around a software subject to controversy: a computer program (driver) linked to the functioning of the PC which acts at the level of the kernel (which manages the resources of the PC) to monitor the activity of the player. Obviously, this raises questions in terms of security and the processing of personal data.

Call of Duty: Warzone

Source: Activision

Is Activision going too far in its fight against cheating?

Thanks to this driver, Ricochet Anti-Cheat has privileged access to the system, which allows very thorough monitoring . Imagine that it is a spy with carte blanche to observe the slightest actions of the user. "The driver element of the Ricochet Anti-Cheat system will check software and applications that attempt to interact with and manipulate Call of Duty: Warzone", justifies Activision. Said driver, very intrusive, will be essential to access the Battle Royale from the future big update called Pacific. Call of Duty: Vanguard will follow at a later date.

If the driver only concerns PC players, those who play on console will benefit indirectly thanks to cross-play (a feature that brings everyone together on the same servers, regardless of platform).

Such a device is already used in other multiplayer-oriented video games, such as Valorant, which is based on the ultra-sophisticated Vanguard device. He pushed Riot Games to reassure the community, worried to see such an intrusive tool, which, as a bonus, operates as soon as the PC is turned on. is to launch cheat software before them, ”explained the company on Reddit in April 2020. In short, it must be seen as a necessary evil, knowing that Riot Games has reviewed its copy over time.

This is why Activision also wants to reassure players, who are legitimately worried, about the way the driver works:

If Activision gives in to such a device, it is simply because cheating is a real scourge in Call of Duty: Warzone. As Polygon recalls in an article published on October 13, more than 600,000 players have already been banned. Obviously, having cheaters play together is not enough.