Activision's Call of Duty Black Ops 7 also has TPM 2.0 and Secure Boot requirements – and kernel-level anti-cheat shows no signs of slowing down

• Activision confirms Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 will require TPM 2.0 and Secure Boot settings on PC
• It's doubling down on the Ricochet anti-cheat system used in recent iterations
• Both new Call of Duty and Battlefield games will have the same kernel-level requirements

Microsoft's Activision is set to join EA's Battlefield 6 in the battle of the best FPS games of 2025 once Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 launches on November 14 on PS5, PS4, Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, and PC, and a new update for the latter may leave PC players frustrated.

As reported by TweakTown, Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 will have TPM 2.0 and Secure Boot requirements at launch on PC, to further boost its current Ricochet anti-cheat system used in previous iterations of the franchise. This is also mandatory for Battlefield 6 players, which uses EA's Javelin anti-cheat found in games like EA Sports FC 26.

The Ricochet (and, frankly, EA's Javelin) anti-cheat system has been heavily criticized by gamers in Call of Duty titles over the years, because it sometimes failed to prevent hackers and cheaters from using in-game aim assist tools – and showcases false detections and hands out bans for innocent players.

Cases of in-game hacks occur more often in older titles, specifically titles like Call of Duty: Warzone (where the anti-cheat system was first used), Call of Duty: Vanguard, and Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2 (2022), and issues are still found in new releases. These cases were recently made evident in the Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 beta, which Dexerto spotted, with players using wall hacks and aimbots seen in killcams.

It's no secret that many gamers have protested against the use of kernel-level anti-cheat, considering the potential security vulnerabilities, no Linux compatibility, and the performance cost in games. However, it looks like Activision is doubling down on its efforts to prevent cheating, but, as we saw with Battlefield 6, it may serve as more of a detriment to gamers.

Analysis: I hate to say it, but I don't think kernel-level anti-cheat will disappear...

It appears as though publishers (specifically EA and Activision) are bolstering attempts to prevent cheaters, which is a good thing on paper because nobody wants cheaters in games. However, that means the chance of Call of Duty or Battlefield coming to SteamOS decreases even more, and worries of potential system vulnerabilities (due to kernel-level access) aren't going anywhere.

Fortunately, I've never heard of any cases where issues have arisen from kernel-level anti-cheat (at least with systems that mainstream publishers use), in which case, I'm currently more bothered by the neglect of Linux players, especially since many gamers use handhelds with SteamOS, Bazzite, or other Linux distros installed.

What makes matters worse is that some single-player games like Elden Ring (regardless of its co-op element) use kernel-level anti-cheat, and even briefly, the upcoming Resident Evil Requiem, according to its Steam store page, before it was removed.

This is a worrying trend, and I'm afraid the use of these anti-cheat systems could become the new normal. Perhaps it already is...

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