During the initial hours of the Black Ops 7 beta, a familiar nervousness crept in. Reports and clips of cheaters quickly surfaced, stirring concerns about Call of Duty’s long-standing struggles with anti-cheat measures. However, what began as apprehension has now blossomed into genuine optimism.
After investing many hours into the game myself, I haven’t encountered a single player I truly suspect of cheating. This anecdotal evidence is now backed by Activision’s official statistics, which indicate that the Ricochet anti-cheat system performed exceptionally well in the Black Ops 7 beta. The company proudly announced that malicious actors were identified and dealt with faster than ever before, with less than one percent of detected cheaters ever making it into a live match.
While my initial reaction to the early cheating videos might have been a bit overblown, it’s clear now that those instances were highly isolated. Activision’s new update reinforces their commitment to combating cheat vendors and enhancing Call of Duty’s security against hackers, offering truly encouraging statistics from the ongoing beta.
According to Activision, the Ricochet team was incredibly proactive during the Black Ops 7 Early Access Beta. While cheaters were anticipated, the upgraded systems, bolstered by strengthened TPM 2.0 checks and automated processes, detected and neutralized a significant number of cheating attempts with unprecedented speed. Those few who did manage to bypass the initial detection didn’t last long, with most failing to even load into a match.
The official report states that an impressive 97% of cheaters were apprehended within 30 minutes of their first sign-in. Furthermore, a minuscule percentage—less than one percent—managed to enter a map and potentially disrupt other players’ experiences. Even these rare occurrences were swiftly addressed, with offenders removed from matches within minutes. Activision also confirmed that accounts featured in viral cheating clips from recent days had already been banned by the time their footage circulated on social media.
Of course, it’s worth tempering this excitement slightly. These figures specifically relate to cheating instances that Ricochet successfully intercepted. The exact number of cheaters who completely evaded detection remains unknown, though it’s unlikely to be a significant amount given the reported efficiency. Providing raw numbers of detected cheaters, rather than just percentages, would also offer clearer insight into the scale of the problem Ricochet is tackling.
Nevertheless, witnessing Ricochet, alongside the newly enforced Secure Boot and TPM 2.0 requirements for PC players, operate with such speed and effectiveness is undeniably promising. It’s a rare pleasure to use words like ‘optimistic’ and ‘encouraging’ when discussing Call of Duty’s anti-cheat efforts, but in this case, it feels entirely appropriate.
With further enhancements planned for Ricochet ahead of the Black Ops 7 official launch, there’s genuine hope for one of the most trouble-free Call of Duty releases in recent memory. As other major FPS titles like Battlefield 6 and Arc Raiders prepare for their own releases, Black Ops 7 faces strong competition. A pervasive cheating issue would undoubtedly be a significant setback, making Ricochet’s strong beta performance all the more vital.