In Call of Duty, cheaters ruin players’ matches. One of the world’s most famous CoD players, Scump, warns of declining player numbers in Black Ops 6 if Activision does not do anything about it.
Cheaters are the big problem in modern CoD games and the “Battle Royale” mode Warzone in particular was unplayable at times. At the end of 2021, the new anti-cheat system “RICOCHET” was introduced into the shooter and was intended to declare war on cheaters.
In recent years, the system has been continually adapted. In November 2023, a trick was developed to detect cheaters in Warzone and a player was caught by it and initially thought he was being bullied. Nevertheless, cheaters are still a problem in Call of Duty.
Who warns about declining player numbers? Seth “Scump” Abner (28) is one of the world’s most famous CoD players and has devoted himself professionally to various titles in the franchise. In January 2023, Scump ended his career as a professional CoD player. Scump has 1.7 million followers on Twitch and regularly streams in front of over 6,000 viewers.
Scump commented on the cheater problem in Call of Duty in his livestream on Twitch on September 17, 2024. He thinks that more people cheat the longer the game is out, which means the player base is decreasing.
In October, a new part of the shooter series, Black Ops 6, will be released:
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“The number of cheaters is increasing, the number of players is decreasing”
What does the professional say? In a livestream on Twitch, a viewer asks Scump why he doesn’t play Modern Warfare 3 and whether it’s because of the cheaters. He also asks the streamer for his opinion on the cheater problem.
Scump says:
I think the problem with cheaters in Call of Duty gets worse as the year goes on – and it happens every year. It’s just the way it is, especially in multiplayer. The longer the game is out, the more people cheat, and that’s just how it goes. The player base goes down, the number of cheaters goes up. […] I hate the cheaters, every year I stop playing ranked around season 2. Literally every single year.
Scump in the live stream on Twitch, timestamp 09:54:40
Some users are taking up the topic in the chat. SabpremeLeader writes: “Always unplayable at the end of its lifespan.” And craz3ykev writes: “Anti-cheat is so good…”, which he probably means sarcastically.
What does this mean for Black Ops 6? Scump’s classification fits well with the upcoming release of Black Ops 6, as the new part of the “Call of Duty” series will be released on October 25th. It remains to be seen how high the player numbers will be at release and in the months following.
During the Black Ops 6 beta, Activision has already tested various features of the RICOCHET anti-cheat system (via callofduty.com). The team is also focusing on further improving the systems “to prevent cheating, catch cheaters and [den] games.” RICOCHET will be “fully deployed” on BO6’s release day.
In the months following the release, players will see how the cheater problem develops with the new part of the shooter series and whether the improvements are sufficient.
During the beta weekends, numerous players were able to test the new features, weapons and the new omni-movement of Black Ops 6. In general, the Black Ops 6 beta was well received, but also faced criticism.