Surge in Cheaters Strikes Modern Warfare 3's Xbox Game Pass Debut

Microsoft's acquisition of Activision has led to the recent inclusion of Modern Warfare 3 on Xbox Game Pass. Released last week, this move has drawn more players to the game but has also coincided with a surge in cheating issues.

According to CharlieIntel (first spotted by Insider Gaming), a Twitter user known for its reliable updates on the Call of Duty franchise, there has been a noticeable increase in cheaters since the launch of Season 5 that started the same time as the game's Xbox debut, including in Ranked games. They observed that numerous hackers, identifiable by an "Xbox" logo in the lobby, appear to be using the PC Game Pass (Microsoft Store version) to access the game.

In response to this concern, some players cited Ricochet — CoD's "multi-faceted approach to combat cheating" which spotted over 27,000 cheating accounts back in April to have them banned. It is said to involve server-side tools that monitor analytics to identify cheating, enhanced investigation processes, detections and mitigations. However, it seems that cheats/hacks have found ways to outwit Ricochet.

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3, the third installment in the trilogy, was launched last November. The title had an exceptional launch and broke trilogy records for player engagement within the first two weeks. Notably, it surpassed its predecessors in terms of average hours played per player during the same initial two-week period. 

There is no response from Activision regarding this issue yet. You can check out the original report from Insider Gaming about this topic here and join our 80 Level Talent platform and our Telegram channel, follow us on Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn, TikTok, and Reddit, where we share breakdowns, the latest news, awesome artworks, and more.