Bilawal Bashir 
The new Call of Duty game is already getting attention, including from hackers, as the Black Ops 6 beta already has a cheating problem.
The Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 open beta is currently underway, and players are already frustrated about cheaters. Call of Duty games are notorious for having hacks and cheats designed for them. The cheats include wall hacks, auto-aiming, and invulnerability. Cheats that let cheaters see through the map’s walls? Yes, those are also being used.
Reports of players encountering cheaters are flooding social media with multiple clips showing blatant cheating. A popular Reddit post shows a hacker using wall hacks to track enemies and use what appears to be auto-aim to take them down rapidly. How did cheaters move so quickly and is there any hope of Activision fixing this?
Does Black Ops 6 use Ricochet?
Black Ops 6 uses Ricochet, Activision’s anti-cheat software that works on a kernel level. Unfortunately, hackers were able to bypass it in the Black Ops 6 beta almost immediately.
In typical Call of Duty fashion, things started to go haywire right after the beta launched. Within one day of the beta being out, cheaters began appearing in matches. Just like it was using the new OmniMovement system, fair play and effective matchmaking did a backflip out the window.
Despite anti-cheat engines like Ricochet and Valorant’s Vanguard being invasive to the point of being a serious security and privacy concern, the Ricochet anti-cheat has seemingly failed to make an impact. The official Call of Duty Twitter account explained that the Ricochet team is “being proactive with detections during the Beta.”
Will Activision fix cheating in Call of Duty: Black Ops 6?
It’s highly unlikely that Activision will completely fix cheating in Call of Duty: Black Ops 6.
The Black Ops 6 beta is unlikely to get another Ricochet anti-cheat update to curb cheating. Thankfully, the anti-cheat team is collecting telemetry data that will help ban cheating accounts.
Previously, the Modern Warfare 3 beta also faced cheaters. Once the final game rolled out, widespread cheating software was blocked, and users were banned. Ricochet also banned the use of aim assist devices on PC, leading to a more stable experience. Unfortunately, this didn’t completely stop cheating.
Activision continues to play from behind when it comes to cheating. This isn’t for lack of effort, as the company is employing both its developers and its lawyers to deal with cheaters.
Call of Duty Black Ops 6 is gearing up to be Treyarch’s biggest game yet. With a stealth-focused single-player campaign and a huge zombie mode, fans are excited for the release. Hopefully, the cheating issues will be tamped down once the game launches in October.
