Activision is finally bringing in the big guns in an effort to catch cheaters in Call of Duty, specifically Warzone and the upcoming entry Vanguard. Today the company unveiled Ricochet Anti-Cheat, a brand-new solution that aims to crack down on cheaters with server-side tools, machine learning algorithms, better investigation pipelines, account security updates, and, most importantly, a kernel-level PC driver.
Once available, the Ricochet driver"s objective is to monitor and report any applications that interacts with the game it"s protecting, giving Activision"s anti-cheat team data to act on the unauthorized injections.
"Cheating software has become more sophisticated, allowing cheaters to circumvent traditional approaches to security," Activision explained on the need for this high level of access. "A kernel-level driver allows for the monitoring of applications that may attempt to manipulate Call of Duty: Warzone game code, while it is running."
Valorant fans may remember Riot"s anti-cheat implementation that took a similar approach, which funnily enough is called Vanguard. However, to stave off privacy and stability concerns that also plagued Valorant"s approach, Activision assures players that its driver is being tested vigorously, adding:
- RICOCHET Anti-Cheat"s kernel-level driver operates ONLY while playing Call of Duty: Warzone on PC.
- RICOCHET Anti-Cheat"s driver is not always-on.
- RICOCHET Anti-Cheat"s driver monitors the software and applications that interact with Call of Duty: Warzone.
- When you shut down Call of Duty: Warzone, the driver turns off.
While the server-side implementation of Ricochet Anti-Cheat will hit Call of Duty Warzone with the upcoming Pacific update and Call of Duty: Vanguard at launch on November 5, the full solution, with the driver, will arrive later, with Warzone gaining it first followed by Vanguard.