Cheaters, declining player numbers and community frustration: the Call of Duty franchise is facing major challenges.
The Call of Duty series has long been a staple in gaming, with iconic titles like Black Ops 2 and Black Ops 3 standing among the most-played shooters of all time.
However, the franchise's recent trajectory has raised concerns, particularly with Black Ops 6 and CoD: Warzone.
Stagnating player numbers, delayed updates, and a growing issue with cheaters have led to mounting dissatisfaction within the community.
Player Numbers Plateau Despite Loyal Fanbase
According to SteamDB, Call of Duty remains in the top 30 most-played games on the platform. However, player activity has declined significantly.
Over the past 30 days, active player numbers have dropped by more than 38%, averaging just 40,000 concurrent players.
A similar trend is visible on Twitch, where viewership has stagnated, reflecting a decline in interest across the board.
What’s behind this downturn?
Ranked Mode Ruined by Cheaters
Since the introduction of the official ranked mode in November 2024, players have faced not only competitive challenges but also an influx of cheaters.
Reports of wallhacks, aimbots, and network manipulation dominate social media, as these exploits make fair competition nearly impossible. A once-thrilling Warzone match can be completely ruined by an encounter with a cheater, leaving players demoralized.
Clips and discussions of alleged hacking have flooded the community, further fueling frustrations.
Even top-tier players like Aydan, who briefly held the world’s No. 1 Warzone ranking, have come under scrutiny for alleged cheating.
#1 Ranked Warzone player @aydan is BLATANTLY cheating! pic.twitter.com/gkMfkRiC9x
— Fifakill (@Fifakill_) January 6, 2025
While some argue that features like controller aim-assist could explain these moments,
"To be fair controller will make you lock on. Not sure if that's the case. But I have a clip of something similar. But through the smoke definitely is weird."
others insist cheating has become a widespread issue:
I know nobody likes the truth now n days but majority of ALL the top COD streamers are Blatantly cheating! Lol I be watching the videos like it's no way I'm the only mf seeing this! Pay attention how they play at live tournaments lol then when at home!
— Papi (@Realty2_) January 7, 2025
It’s essential to avoid generalizing accusations against professional players.
Still, the sheer volume of clips and discussions underscores the reality: cheating is a significant problem in Call of Duty, driving away frustrated players.
Activision Bans 136,000 Accounts
In response to the growing backlash, Activision has banned over 136,000 Call of Duty accounts suspected of hacking.
While this demonstrates a commitment to tackling the problem, it also highlights shortcomings in the much-touted anti-cheat system, which appears less effective than initially claimed.
While there have been calls for millions more accounts to be banned, the latest update also includes some tweaks to the anti-cheat system.
The algorithm for automatically detecting Aimbot users has been improved, and account monitoring and tracking has been expanded.Activision has decided against IP bans in order not to affect innocent players, which would primarily help in the fight against bots and the waves of new accounts from hackers.
Cheaters, beware! Treyarch has just banned 136,000 players from Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 and Warzone for fraudulent play. The latest update ramps up the fight against in-game cheating with improved detection algorithms targeting aimbot users and enhanced account tracking....
— Soren.com (@sorencom) January 21, 2025
This decision is a double-edged sword, as cheaters can quickly create new accounts or rely on pre-made bot accounts to resume their exploits.
And 136K new accounts were made.
— Merc (@JMercatell) January 17, 2025
Whether these efforts will improve the overall gaming experience remains uncertain.
For now, the pressure is on Activision to deliver updates and better anti-cheat tools to prevent further player attrition.
By the way: reports of cheating won’t see faster resolutions through excessive spam-reporting. Activision confirms that only one additional report per account is considered during investigations.
What do you think of the cheat situation in CoD, especially Black Ops 6 and Warzone? Let us know in the comments!
