Infinity Ward issues statement amid backlash over Call of Duty: Modern Warfare and Warzone cheaters
Warning shot.
Infinity Ward has issued a warning to Call of Duty: Modern Warfare and Warzone cheaters, saying a fresh banwave is coming.
The statement comes amid a growing backlash to cheating in the first-person shooter's battle royale and competitive multiplayer.
Infinity Ward has spent much of 2020 trying to combat cheaters, particularly on PC and the free-to-download Warzone.
And while it seemed for a time that the studio was making some progress in the never-ending war against hacks, complaints have piled up in recent months, with some saying cheating is worse than ever.
"Cheating will not be tolerated," Infinity Ward said. "More banwaves are coming. If you receive a ban it is for unauthorised manipulation of game data. Don't fall for unscrupulous services offering cheats and modifications, these are fraudulent."
Infinity Ward goes on to list what it considers to be cheating, such as hex editors that equip items you have not obtained properly. Then there's the obvious stuff you see so much in clips of Warzone cheating on social media: aimbots, wallhacks, trainers, stats hacks, texture hacks, leaderboard hacks, and injectors. "Don't do it," Infinity Ward said. "This may result in being banned."
It's fair to say Infinity Ward's statement was met with a mixed reaction from the Call of Duty community. "please stop" was how redditor Beasty194 described it.
Infinity Ward has seemingly faced an uphill battle in the war against Warzone cheaters. As the battle royale exploded with popularity, so did its market for cheats. Earlier this month, we reported on how Warzone cheaters were using aimbots to headshot new player spawns out of the sky. In April we reported how some console players were disabling crossplay in a bid to avoid PC hackers.
The front page of the Warzone subreddit is often packed with fresh clips of Warzone cheating, some of it quite astonishing.
Glad to see nothings been done from r/CODWarzone
The last time Infinity Ward issued a banwave, some innocents were caught in the crossfire. Fingers crossed the developer's next attempt will be more effective.