"This is just the beginning": Activision says 97% of hackers banned within 30 minutes in Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 Beta

Activision announced that 97% of cheaters who tried to access Call of Duty: Black Ops 7’s beta were detected and subsequently banned within 30 minutes of signing in. The company, via its Team Richochet initiative, reported that less than 1% of cheaters made it to matches.

This swift response to cheating comes on the heels of Black Ops 7’s beta launch last week, along with Zombies, where players were required to enable TPM 2.0 and Secure Boot to participate.

Activision stated in an official update on X, “Cheaters were expected. But our upgraded systems caught them faster than ever, powered by strengthened TPM 2.0 checks and automated systems helping to eliminate a large number of attempts to cheat.”

The company reiterated that while some cheaters slipped through into matchmaking, their time in-game was short-lived, with most accounts actioned before viral clips could surface online. 

Activision further added, “Those who did manage to slip through didn’t last long. Most never made it into a match. You may have seen clips of cheaters in the Black Ops 7 Beta. We had already taken action on most of those accounts before they hit social media. We’re watching closely, acting in real time, and learning from every attempt.”

Aside from bolstered anti-cheat measures, Activision cracked down on the broader cheating ecosystem, closing more than 40 cheat developers and resellers since the release of Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 last year. Several cheat providers have admitted that their tools are now “unusable” against Black Ops 7’s systems.

Still, manual reports by players are warranted as “they help field our detection models, refine enforcement, and improve coverage.”

Looking ahead to Call of Duty: Black Ops 7’s full launch, slated for November 14, 2025, Activision promises an even stronger anti-cheat system, stating, “And this is just the beginning. When launch arrives, every layer of protection will be in full force, and Richochet Anti-Cheat will only grow stronger.

Activision concluded the post with closing remarks: “We’re dedicated to transparency, community feedback, and constant evolution in our fight for fair play.”

Activision’s stance on anti-cheat implementations builds upon last week’s warning, in which the company stated that any beta bans for cheating would be permanent across all Call of Duty titles, from Modern Warfare (2019) onward.