Activision: COD Elite will kill cheaters

Amid the ongoing Sony hack furore, Activision has pledged to ensure that Call of Duty: Elite, the new multiplayer-focused service set to launch alongside Modern Warfare 3 this November, will help rid the game of cheaters.

Call of Duty games have in recent years been prone to exploits, some of which have ruined the online experience of legitimate players by altering their statistics.

But Activision told Eurogamer the Beachhead-developed Elite should ensure such problems are a thing of the past.

"From a developer standpoint we put an extremely high premium on security," Beachhead boss Chacko Sonny said.

"We have dedicated staff focusing on that from an architectural standpoint, making sure nothing we design is exposed, and we're also making sure that we're securing the events and competitions that will eventually become part of the service."

"If we just built a platform and a technology, all those edge cases would still exist," added Activision digital boss Jamie Berger.

"That's why we have to have this big administrative team there to add the human level of understanding, and assessing individual cases. No machine will be able to tell if another guy cheated in the game. We need people to arbitrate."

In January Infinity Ward blamed Sony and the PlayStation 3's compromised security on PS3 Modern Warfare 2 exploits and hacks.

At the time Infinity Ward promised gamers that it would not rely on platform holders to stop hackers from ruining its future projects.