In the relentless battle against cheat-makers and hackers in Call of Duty, Activision has once again made a significant move. The latest Activision ban wave took place on July 28. This time, it resulted in the suspension of another 14,000 accounts.

This time, the primary targets were cheat-makers and software hosts, as reported by CODUpdates on Twitter. This information is further supported by sources revealing that users of popular cheating services, namely InterWebz and EngineOwning, were greeted with permanently locked accounts upon logging in.

Source: Call of Duty

Ban Timing Should Help Release of Season 5

This Activision ban wave comes at a crucial time as Activision gears up for the launch of season five of 2022’s Modern Warfare 2. The new season, set to drop on August 2, promises a plethora of new content, including maps, weapons, and operators for both standard multiplayer and Warzone.

Cheaters in CoD are finding themselves on the losing end more frequently as Activision intensifies its crackdown on cheat providers. Since the enhancement of its RICOCHET anti-cheat software in April to target Cronus and XIM users, fewer users are managing to evade bans, and most are not returning to cheat software. Further improvements to RICOCHET in June for season four, which introduced a Hallucination feature to trick cheaters into targeting fake mirages of players, have yielded impressive results. The recent culling marks another victory for the anti-cheat service.

However, RICOCHET’s capabilities are limited when it comes to the game’s namesake. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 (2009) is still grappling with its own cheating epidemic. This is despite recent new anti cheat functions being introduced. It was discovered that culprits were injecting malware into unsuspecting players on official servers. As a result, official servers remain offline. It remains uncertain when players will be able to return to the decade-old game.

As we approach the launch of MW2’s season five next week, the ball is back in the cheater’s court. It’s clear they won’t go down without a fight.