For the nth year in a row, PlayStation players got first dibs on the latest Call of Duty game, Modern Warfare 3. Anyone with PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5 had a chance to check Sledgehammer Games’ Call of Duty out (yes, Infinity Ward is not at the helm but they’re helping out) ahead of its release on November 10.
Unfortunately, as much as we’d love to bring good tidings, the PlayStation-exclusive beta didn’t go so smoothly.
Apparently, it didn’t take hackers long to breach Activision Blizzard’s security systems and get their cheats working on a game that isn’t even out yet. Technically, this shouldn’t happen, especially on consoles. But, the video below is damning evidence. We recommend you check it out yourself.
this smh on ps5 too pic.twitter.com/dZy2SYYPmN
— Duqys (@Duqysss) October 8, 2023
With both aimbot and wall-hacks enabled, the suspect had no problem clipping bullets through barriers and going for relatively effortless kills. So much for investing in an anti-cheat system, eh?
Activision Blizzard must be kicking themselves trying to find out how this happened. The RICOCHET Anti-Cheat System, which went online just a few entries ago, has successfully shot down cheaters in Call of Duty. These days, cheating is no longer as rampant in the best-selling shooter. Unfortunately, minimal doesn’t necessarily mean zero. The footage proves that as comprehensive as the existing Anti-Cheat system system is, someone somewhere can still break it wide open.
It’s unclear how the unscrupulous individuals got their cheats working on Modern Warfare 3. There are many theories circulating online. The most credible one is that the cheaters used a PlayStation 4 DevKit. The developer-exclusive kits are rare, even more so today. It’s believed this is the only way to run actual cheats on PS4 games, especially those that just launched or are still undergoing beta testing. The rarity of the DevKits explain why cheaters are rare in consoles, because they don’t work on the retail versions.
It’s unknown if the cheater involved in the clip previously worked as a game developer for a studio way back then or they just got a hold of a rare piece of equipment.
Ironically, the PlayStation-exclusive Operator Skin specializes in opening locks.
What’s likely keeping Activision Blizzard up at night right now is that more players are coming on October 12-16. As the Modern Warfare 3 beta opens to players from other platforms, the cheaters will flood and chaos will ensue.
Modern Warfare 3 already has negative public stock by default, described as an overpriced expansion pack instead of a sequel. Having cheaters proliferate the game isn’t going to help with its public perception.
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 is a collaboration between Sledgehammer Games and Infinity Ward. Treyarch joined to bring an even larger zombies mode than ever before as well. Treyarch is taking the lead on next year’s Call of Duty entry, unless things change.
Modern Warfare 3 will likely mark the last time that a Call of Duty game will come out on both current-gen and next-gen consoles. After this, it’s presumed that Call of Duty will become strictly a next-gen exclusive affair, with the new deals struck by Microsoft with Sony and Nintendo taking effect.
Hopefully, Activision Blizzard can find a way to detect and kick out cheaters like these ones in time before the game is fully launched on November 10 (the Early Access period starting on November 3 is strictly single-player only).
