The crackdown now goes beyond accounts and into the hardware itself.
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4 cheaters may find themselves locked out before they even get a chance to play. Call of Duty's anti-cheat team is heading into the launch of Modern Warfare 4 with more than 70,000 new hardware bans already in place, while also stepping up enforcement against players using Cronus Zen, XIM Matrix, and similar devices to gain an unfair advantage.
Team RICOCHET detailed its latest anti-cheat push in a series of posts on Thursday (25 September), confirming that existing hardware bans will carry directly into Modern Warfare 4 when the game launches.
"Modern Warfare 4 is almost here, and the work to protect fair play is already in motion on multiple fronts," the Call of Duty team said. "Recent enforcement updates helped Team RICOCHET issue more than 70,000 new hardware bans. Those hardware bans carry into launch."
That means players caught by the recent enforcement wave will not simply be able to move on to the new Call of Duty and start again with a fresh account on the same banned hardware.
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4
Release date: 23 October, 2026
Platforms: PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, Nintendo Switch 2, and PC
Developer: Infinity Ward
Modern Warfare 4 is also banning Cronus Zen and XIM Matrix cheaters
Team RICOCHET is also putting more attention on hardware that modifies player inputs, including devices such as Cronus Zen and XIM Matrix.
These devices can alter or translate inputs between controllers, keyboards, and mice, and some are marketed for accessibility or compatibility purposes. Call of Duty's enforcement, however, is based on how they are actually being used during matches. "Using Cronus Zen, XIM Matrix or similar tools to cheat is not allowed," Activision said. "Players who use these devices to cheat are subject to account and console bans."
Around 5,000 accounts have already been banned for using these types of devices to cheat. The distinction matters because Team RICOCHET is not treating ownership of a particular product as an automatic offence. As the Call of Duty team explained, "Some of these products are marketed as accessibility tools. We judge them by what they do in a match, not by what they're called or how they're sold."
Activision is also going after the companies and distributors behind cheating hardware, not only the players using it. The publisher said it tracked down Cronus' North American distributor to a hotel in Southeast Asia last year and served him with a cease-and-desist.
Modern Warfare 4 requires TPM 2.0 and Secure Boot on PC
PC players will also need to make sure their systems meet Modern Warfare 4's security requirements before heading online. TPM 2.0 and Secure Boot will both be mandatory for Modern Warfare 4 online play. These Windows security features give RICOCHET Anti-Cheat a more trusted environment to verify that a PC has not been tampered with before a player enters a match.
Call of Duty is already urging PC players to check their systems ahead of launch instead of discovering an issue when they try to play.
"TPM 2.0 and Secure Boot are required for Modern Warfare 4 online play," the team said. "These features help create a trusted security foundation for RICOCHET Anti-Cheat and are an important part of protecting matches at launch."
Players can check Activision's TPM 2.0 and Secure Boot setup guidance before launch.
Some PC players are still having Modern Warfare 4 Secure Attestation problems
Requiring TPM 2.0 and Secure Boot does not mean every compatible PC is passing RICOCHET's checks without trouble. Activision said it has updated its Secure Attestation Wizard and troubleshooting guidance after receiving reports from players who are still failing attestation.
According to Team RICOCHET's data, AMD 3.x.0.x is currently the most common issue appearing in failure reports. Lenovo users are also reporting attestation problems at a higher rate than players using systems from other manufacturers. The anti-cheat team said its engineers are working directly with Microsoft and hardware manufacturers to identify fixes.
Lenovo users may face an additional hurdle. Activision said players who cannot find the BIOS update required for their system currently need to contact Lenovo directly, as the relevant update is not being made publicly available. Players who continue to receive a Failed Attestation Status after following the troubleshooting steps can submit their system information through Activision's TPM report form. The form does not open a support ticket, but Team RICOCHET said the reports will help it identify remaining compatibility problems and improve the attestation process.
With hardware bans already carrying forward, input-modifying devices under closer scrutiny, and new security requirements waiting for PC players, Modern Warfare 4's anti-cheat rollout is effectively starting before its servers properly open.
