Suspected Call of Duty: Warzone cheaters will now be forced to play with each other, developer Infinity Ward has announced.
The battle royale has been plagued with cheaters since it released in March, so much so that the developer turned off cross-play for Warzone to stop PC cheats from ruining the game for console players. But now Infinity Ward is going a step further in ramping up its anti-cheat measures.
In a Twitter post, Infinity Ward announced that "starting this week" suspected cheaters will be matched together – meaning they'll be forced to play with other suspected cheaters.
pic.twitter.com/sfnpJ9uwoQApril 22, 2020
In addition, players who report suspected cheaters will now be informed if the reported player is banned, while additional dedicated security updates will be rolled out to catch any Warzone cheaters.
Infinity Ward also announced that a new report-a-player feature is "coming soon" to spectator and killcam modes.
The developer didn't specify when these measures will be implemented outside of "this week", however TechRadar has contacted Call of Duty publisher Activision for confirmation.
Cheaters never prosper
Infinity Ward's decision to throw suspected cheaters into matches together is a great idea, especially given that it's already had to ban over 70,000 players for cheating.
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The developer didn't specify how long cheaters will be sentenced to this purgatory for, or whether there are options to appeal, but it should help make Warzone matches a bit more pleasant.
The practice of matching cheaters together, usually via so-called 'cheater servers' or 'bad sport servers', isn't new, and we've seen it implemented in online games like GTA Online and Dark Souls 2. The aim of matchmaking cheaters with cheaters is to give those players a taste of their own medicine, without disrupting others.
Let's hope Call of Duty: Warzone cheaters learn their lesson.
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An award-winning games journalist, with seven years of experience in games journalism and a degree in journalism from City University, London, Vic brings experience from IGN, Eurogamer, The Telegraph, VG247, Dot Esports and more to the TechRadar table. You may have even heard her on the radio or speaking on a panel, as she’s previously appeared on BBC Radio 4, BBC Radio 5, BBC Radio Ulster and more. Not only is Vic passionate about games, but she's appeared on both panels and podcasts to discuss mental health awareness. Make sure to follow her on Twitter for more.