Cheaters have been a problem in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 and Warzone for years now, to varying degrees of severity. Infinity Ward once again updated its anti-cheat system to announce when a cheater has been removed from a lobby, and flags offenders using the kill feed.

The Ricochet anti-cheat system has been updated as a part of Modern Warfare II and Warzone Season 5. The system has been in place since 2021 and is described as a "robust anti-cheat system supported by a team of dedicated professionals focused on fighting unfair play."

Infinity Ward has continuously updated Ricochet to adapt to the ever-evolving cheats that malicious players employ. The system started as a simple kernel-level driver protection tool but has evolved into an anti-cheat powerhouse, enforcing fair play among the millions of Call of Duty players.

In the latest update, Ricochet uses the Call of Duty kill feed to notify lobbies that a player has been removed from the game for cheating. This shaming tactic is just one of the number of ways that the system punishes offending players.

"RICOCHET has entered the chat," Activision tweeted. "Starting in Season 05, the kill feed will notify lobbies when #TeamRICOCHET and it's systems have removed a problem player from the game."

Yeah this is a solid W 👏

— Westie (@MrProWestie) August 2, 2023

"Yeah this is a solid W," popular Warzone and DMZ content creator MrProWestie replied. Westie has around 900,000 subscribers on YouTube and normally streams DMZ matches with other popular Call of Duty players.

Aside from announcing a cheater’s name, the system also has other tactics that dissuade players from using cheats. Previously, Ricochet took away a player’s weapons when flagged. The system also adds fake players that are only visible to the cheat to confuse them. There was also a time when regular players became invisible to cheaters.

The system also enabled a god mode, taking away the ability of cheaters to kill players in matches, among other mechanics designed to troll cheaters. These tactics have been moderately effective  and improved the gameplay experience of most gamers.

Ricochet has also cracked down on the use of third-party hardware devices like XIM, Cronus Zen, and ReaSnow S1. These hardware devices have been very popular with players and were designed to be undetectable. These devices gave players the aim assist from controllers but with the benefit of movement from the mouse and keyboard, as well as other advantages.

The use of wall hacks and aimbots have been very rampant in online shooters like Call of Duty Warzone. Aimbots lock onto opponents’ heads while wall hacks allow cheaters to see through walls and track the location of all other players constantly, regardless of line of sight or distance.

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 and Warzone Season 5 is currently ongoing and will be the penultimate season of the game. Activision just released a new teaser for Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III which comes out in late October.