Call of Duty‘s anti-cheat software will now detect if a player is using aim assist on a keyboard and mouse and shut down their game.
In a recent post shared on Twitter / X (via IGN), Activision announced that its anti-cheat technology, commonly known as ‘Ricochet’ to players, has been improved and now features the capability to catch cheaters in the act.
“Our security detection systems now target players using tools to activate aim assist while using a mouse and keyboard. The Call of Duty application will close if detected,” the post reads.
“Repeated use of these tools may lead to further account action.”
This new Ricochet update applies to Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3, Modern Warfare 2, and Warzone on PC. The console version of these games, however, features a built-in aim assist – which offers players some help when aiming with analog sticks, a topic of discussion in the community that some believe gives others an unfair advantage.
Both PlayStation and Xbox consoles also allow users to plug in a keyboard and mouse via USB, allowing them to play games that way, but when done so with Call of Duty, the console aim assist will detect the new device and be turned off.
There are third-party controller emulators – like XIM and Cronus Zen – that can be used to combat this, making the game think the player is using a PlayStation or Xbox controller when they’re not. This, for obvious reasons, isn’t allowed.
Activision cracked down on cheaters last year by providing a host of new updates to its Ricochet technology over months, including the ability to detect third-party hardware and other security measures.
In June 2023, it introduced “hallucinations” which spawns fake players to trick cheaters into exposing themselves using the anti-cheat software, and in November, added a measure that disables cheaters’ parachutes.
For more, here’s our list of the best FPS games, as well as the best multiplayer PC games available to play in 2024.
