Activision has addressed concerns around cheating in Call of Duty: Warzone Ranked Play, confirming that the mode is currently facing “higher “cheating pressure” than Black Ops 7 Multiplayer Ranked during Season 2.
In an update shared by Activision’s RICOCHET Anti-Cheat Team today, the developer explained that the huge difference comes down to how new anti-cheat protections, particularly Microsoft’s Azure Attestation for PC players, have been rolled out across the main Call of Duty modes.
“With Season 02, Black Ops 7 Multiplayer Ranked Play launched with expanded protections using Microsoft’s cloud-based attestation technology. Since the season began, Ranked MP has been significantly cleaner than years past, with nearly 99% of matches clean from cheaters,” Activision stated.
“We’re seeing higher cheating pressure in Call of Duty: Warzone Ranked Play compared to Multiplayer Ranked, where Microsoft attestation is not yet fully enabled.”
Players have long voiced frustration over cheating problems in Warzone, especially in Ranked Play where unfair advantages can seriously affect outcomes and progression.
The RICOCHET team said closing the protection gap between Warzone and BO7 Ranked Play is now a top priority. While no firm rollout date was given, the update hints that ranked BR will eventually get the same security upgrades that have reportedly helped stabilize MP’s competitive mode.
Activision also shared an update on shadow bans, which are officially called Limited Matchmaking (LMM). This controversial feature temporarily isolates accounts showing signs of unfair play while investigations are ongoing.
The dev emphasized that shadow bans aren’t meant to target skilled players, creators, or pros. However, during early Season 2 tuning, a number of legitimate players were accidentally caught up in LMM, including Esports World Cup champion Riley “zSmit” Smith of Twisted Minds.
According to Activision, targeted adjustments have since been made to reduce false positives, and reports tied to LMM have noticeably dropped. Ongoing monitoring is in place to prevent similar issues from happening again.
As Warzone Season 2 continues, Ranked Play may still see more cheating and shadow-ban related headaches. We’ll have to wait for Microsoft attestation to be fully active in BR and see if it can deliver the near-cheater-free experience reported in Multiplayer.
