Activision Outline RICOCHET Anti-Cheat System for Call of Duty: Vanguard and Warzone

There is a fine balance that developers should seek when it comes to their video games’ online multiplayer system. On one hand you need to prevent more nefarious players from cheating their way to victory and ruining the experience for everyone else, but at the same time balancing the rights to privacy and not having their software or hardware unduly monitored or modified in seeking such a solution. This is very much similar to the DRM debate which has been going on for years, with some publishers embracing DRM-free as a selling point or having unhampering DRM, to situations where legitimate gaming experiences can be hampered by the DRM itself.

Activision and the Call of Duty development team has shared that their newly developed Ricochet Anti-Cheat system will be introduced into Call of Duty: Warzone and Call of Duty: Vanguard in the near future. They claim that this is to, obviously, “[fight] unfair play across Warzone and Vanguard”, however anyone would be right to raise an eyebrow once you begin getting into terminology like kernel-level drivers and such.

Below are some snippets of what Activision shared HERE, which at least provides a look at what they are aiming to deliver. Further information can be found in a FAQs article HERE. But alas, the real test will be what happens with the system releases for both games, and any performance or privacy implications this presents to players. From past experience, it would not surprise me to see a bumpy road in the weeks and months following its launch.


Activision Outline RICOCHET Anti-Cheat System for Call of Duty: Vanguard and Warzone 1

The RICOCHET Anti-Cheat initiative is a multi-faceted approach to combat cheating, featuring new server-side tools which monitor analytics to identify cheating, enhanced investigation processes to stamp out cheaters, updates to strengthen account security, and more. RICOCHET Anti-Cheat’s backend anti-cheat security features will launch alongside Call of Duty®: Vanguard, and later this year with the Pacific update coming to Call of Duty: Warzone.

In addition to server enhancements coming with RICOCHET Anti-Cheat is the launch of a new PC kernel-level driver,developed internally for the Call of Duty franchise, and launching first for Call of Duty: Warzone. This driver will assist in the identification of cheaters, reinforcing and strengthening the overall server security. The kernel-level driver launches alongside the Pacific update for Warzone later this year.

What is RICOCHET Anti-Cheat?

The new anti-cheat security initiative is designed to fight unfair play.

A Full Anti-Cheat System. RICOCHET Anti-Cheat brings a broad enhancement to the security of for Call of Duty, bringing server enhancements to Call of Duty: Vanguard and Call of Duty: Warzone. Launching first in Warzone later this year is a new kernel-level driver on PC. The driver will be integrated into Call of Duty: Vanguard at a later date. The new initiative allows for rapid iteration to combat a sophisticated and evolving problem.

Call of Duty: Warzone Adds Kernel-Level Driver. Kernel-level drivers are given a high level of access to monitor and manage software and applications on a PC, such as your PC’s graphics card driver. The driver element of the RICOCHET Anti-Cheat system will check the software and applications that attempt to interact and manipulate Call of Duty: Warzone, providing the overall security team more data to bolster security. Once the kernel-level driver is deployed; it will be required to play Warzone.

Protecting Your Privacy.  In its initial rollout on Call of Duty: Warzone, the kernel-level driver will only operate when you play on PC. The driver is not always-on. The software turns on when you start Call of Duty: Warzone and shuts down when you close the game.  Plus, the kernel-level driver only monitors and reports activity related to Call of Duty. 

How the kernel-level driver works

The kernel-level driver for PC as part of the RICOCHET Anti-Cheat system monitors software or applications that attempt to interact with Call of Duty: Warzone.

The driver will help the RICOCHET Anti-Cheat team to learn about suspicious behavior, using that data to strengthen overall anti-cheating security over time.

Ensuring player privacy is extremely important, and the prospect of a kernel-level driver may give some players pause. Given those concerns, here is how your privacy will remain unaffected with RICOCHET Anti-Cheat:

RICOCHET Anti-Cheat’s kernel-level driver operates ONLY while playing Call of Duty: Warzone on PC.

RICOCHET Anti-Cheat’s driver is not always-on.

RICOCHET Anti-Cheat’s driver monitors the software and applications that interact with Call of Duty: Warzone.

When you shut down Call of Duty: Warzone, the driver turns off.


Sam
Sam
Founder of The Otaku's Study. I have been exploring this labyrinth of fandom these last fifteen years, and still nowhere close to the exit yet. Probably searching for a long time to come.

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