Ricochet, Raven Software’s new anti-cheat program for Call of Duty, may have already leaked, giving those in the cheating community a peek at Activision's new defense system for Warzone and Vanguard. Call of Duty’s new anti-cheat system has been rumored for months, with some leakers claiming the program would drop sometime after Call of Duty: Vanguard’s November 5 launch date. Activision confirmed the theory in August, announcing that both Call of Duty: Warzone and Vanguard would be getting an anti-cheat system later this year. The PC anti-cheat, aptly named Ricochet, will launch alongside Warzone’s new map, which will drop sometime after Vanguard’s official launch.
The Call of Duty community has been requesting a dedicated anti-cheat system for a while, beginning with the emergence of crossplay in the series starting with Modern Warfare. Since cheating is more widespread on PC, once console gamers were exposed to more hackers via crossplay, the community’s frustrations mounted. The issue exploded with the introduction of Warzone, with cheaters plaguing the battle royale since launch. Raven Software and Activision have used massive ban waves to attempt to curb the issue, though hackers have continued to find their way back into Verdansk. From aimbots to full-blown god-mode cheats, Warzone is still riddled with hackers. Raven Software’s Ricochet is supposed to be the solution to the problem, though a recent leak may stifle its success.
According to ModernWarzone, Call of Duty’s anti-cheat program, Ricochet, may have leaked. Rumors claimed that Ricochet’s kernel-level driver was exposed to the cheating community through Twitter feeds and cheat forums. The report claimed that the files have become available, though how the leak occurred is still anyone’s guess. ModernWarzone believed the files were accurate, citing numerous sources that reviewed the evidence and confirmed their validity. As of now, the leak has not been confirmed by Activision, and it’s possible the files are fakes or outdated.
If files from Call of Duty’s Ricochet software did leak, the cheating community can use the information to create workarounds to the anti-cheat software before it even launches. However, it’s possible that the files are outdated or Raven Software’s anti-cheat has other systems built in to protect it from said workarounds. Since Ricochet has not been fully released, hackers cannot work with its most current version, which makes it more difficult to exploit its weaknesses. Ricochet is also introducing both server-side tools to catch cheaters and kernel-level drivers to monitor apps affecting Call of Duty games. If the leaked files were only from the kernel-level drivers, there are still other defenses available to catch hackers in the act.
The Call of Duty community has dealt with hackers for years. Call of Duty: Warzone is plagued with cheaters to this day, and massive banwaves have proven relatively ineffective. In order for many in the community to regain trust in Call of Duty games, especially Warzone and Vanguard, Activision and developers need to address the cheating epidemic. Ricochet is supposed to be the answer; however, leaks like this could prove detrimental to its effectiveness.
Source: ModernWarzone