Activision intensifies its fight against cheaters in Call of Duty.

Activision has decided to take legal action against the creator of a known hack for Call of Duty. The company argues that the GameHook and Lergware hacks have been so damaging that a significant number of players have abandoned the PC version of Black Ops 6. Both programs allow users to kick other players from matches and even cause multiplayer servers to crash. Additionally, GameHook provides a cheat that ensures all of the player's shots hit their target. Creating such a hack violates the terms of service, which normally would only result in a ban. However, Activision claims the creators have monetized the hack, generating a considerable amount of money by selling it to other players.

The legal document mentions that Ryan Rothholz, known online as Lerggy, was the original creator of Lergware. Activision sent a cease and desist letter in 2023, but according to the company, the creator merely changed his alias and shared the source code with other hackers. Furthermore, two other individuals, Collin Gyetvai and Jordan Newcombe Boothey, were identified as resellers of the hack. Activision is seeking both monetary compensation and punitive actions against those mentioned in the lawsuit, and the claimed amount could reach millions of dollars.

The issue of cheating in Call of Duty is not new. The community has had a long-standing reputation for toxicity in various forms, and Activision has attempted to take action, albeit with little success. In the past, Call of Duty: Warzone implemented a shadowban system for players reported for cheating, while Call of Duty: Vanguard introduced a mechanism that prevented cheaters from seeing other players. However, these solutions have been only temporary fixes, and the prevalence of cheating continues to be a challenge for the online community.