Cheating in online games, especially on the PC side, has become a huge issue in recent years especially in the popular Call of Duty franchise. A new beta weekend for Activision's upcoming Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War has kicked off, though unlike previous weeks which focused on PS4 and pre-order users, this beta weekend is open to everyone. However, the excitement from players getting a chance to try the game early has since given way to frustration due to an influx of cheaters ruining the experience.
Over on the Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War subReddit, new reports from beta players have started to pop up with stories from matches with hackers. One redditor in particular, madzuk, shared a video of an opponent in a Cartel match that is clearly using aimbotting, which essentially lets the player snap their sights directly on an opposing player for easy kills.
Players were able to clearly identify the cheater thanks in large part to them getting featured as the play of the game post-match. The footage showed the player using the XM4 to lock on and eliminate 10 players in very quick succession. In addition, the player ended the match with a staggering 94 kills. Voice chat in the clip feature a lot of shocked players as well as most vowing to share the clip online to try and highlight the issues.
Naturally, the footage sparked a big conversation on the subReddit. While the majority agree that this a massive problem that Activision needs to deal with, many are just shocked that players are willing to stoop to these levels for a beta. Progression made in the beta doesn't carry over to the full game, so it's very likely this individual is more interested in simply ruining the experience for others. At the very least, many beta players intend to turn off cross-play to avoid the potential of PC cheaters infecting console player matches.
Hacking and cheating in Call of Duty remains a massive issue that doesn't appear to have an end. Activision and Infinity Ward have seemingly been in an endless battle trying to identify and keep cheaters out of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare and Warzone, but they continue to find ways back in. Most recently, 20,000 players were banned from the game, something that occurs every few months. However, the most recent bans don't seem to have targeted every cheat as new reports continue to come in regarding new instances of someone doing something they shouldn't be.
Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War launches November 13 for PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X.