Activision has triggered a sweeping ban wave in Call of Duty, targeting players using cheats from long-standing provider ArtificialAiming. The move has left many banned users venting frustrations online, with several declaring their exit from the game altogether.
A new round of permanent bans has struck Call of Duty players suspected of using third-party hacks, particularly those linked to ArtificialAiming — a cheat provider active for over 19 years. The crackdown appears to focus on cheats used in the upcoming Call of Duty: Black Ops 6, set for release later this year.
ItsHapa, a popular Call of Duty streamer, posted evidence on X (formerly Twitter) from private forums where banned users complained of losing long-standing accounts, some with years of progress and customisation. “Lost both my main accounts today… think I am done with [Call of Duty],” one user wrote. Others echoed the sentiment, saying the risk finally caught up with them.
A spokesperson for Activision, Neil Wood, confirmed the enforcement action, noting that it extended beyond just ArtificialAiming users. “Our latest enforcement efforts disrupted operations from multiple cheat vendors, disabling their tools and issuing bans to their users,” Activision said in a statement. “We remain committed to pursuing those who threaten our community — cheaters, cheat makers, and anyone undermining the fair play experience.”
ArtificialAiming has a reputation as one of the oldest cheat providers in the scene, but according to sources familiar with the underground market, its tools have increasingly been flagged by advanced detection systems.
In a resurfaced 2021 forum post, a staff member from the cheating group claimed that “cheaters won,” suggesting that gaming companies were being forced to spend millions to keep up. Despite recent losses, the post insisted that ArtificialAiming remained operational: “There still are hundreds of thousands of cheaters out there… we’re not defeated yet.”
However, the latest wave of bans suggests otherwise.
Cheating in online games has grown into a multi-million-dollar industry. In 2021, Chinese authorities shut down what they claimed was the world’s largest cheat operation for PUBG Mobile, revealing that its operator had made over $77 million. Other developers have faced lawsuits, leading to massive financial penalties or permanent bans from the gaming industry.
In response, game publishers have invested heavily in anti-cheat technology. Kernel-level systems — which monitor software at the deepest level of a computer — are now the norm in high-profile titles. Activision introduced its Ricochet anti-cheat system in 2021, joining others like Riot Games, which implemented a similar system for Valorant in 2020.
As cheats grow more sophisticated, the battle between game developers and hackers continues. But this latest action shows that for some, the game is finally over.
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