MW3’s cheater spike suggests the Activision/Microsoft merger didn’t just ruin Game Pass, but Call of Duty itself

Modern Warfare 3 launched onto Xbox Game Pass recently, and the first thing that happened was a massive influx of cheaters. This caused massive issues for players who had once been enjoying the game – though there’s not that many of them left now – and it even prompted a response from Activision themselves.

“RICOCHET Anti-Cheat resolved an issue with a detection system over the weekend, which resulted in a spike in cheater reports. For clarity, #TeamRICHOCHET is able to detect the specific platform for all users, despite how they may appear in-game. If you suspect a player in your lobby is cheating, regardless of platform, we recommend you submit a report in-game for further investigation.

We remain committed to combating cheaters, shutting down cheat vendors, and providing our players a fair and fun experience.”

Call of Duty, Activision.

We had recently reported that Modern Warfare 3 has dropped to a Mostly Negative review score on Steam. This is partly due to the fact that it’s suffering from a pretty rampant cheater and bot problem, and the launch onto Game Pass has only exacerbated that.

Charlie Intel reported that “many of the cheaters seem to be playing via PC Game Pass (Microsoft Store version) as they appear with “Xbox” logo in lobby and are using hacks.” Unfortunately, Xbox Game Pass doesn’t provide metrics in terms of player count data or anything of the like. This means we can’t accurately assess how many new players are playing via Microsoft’s subscription service, though we’re going to anticipate it’s a lot. If you look at the Steam data, you can see a slight spike that correlates with the launch, suggesting that it’s generated buzz and interest on platforms beyond Xbox’s.

Not too long ago, Microsoft had a little bit of a deathmatch with the FTC over claims that it was exercising market power post-merger, and that the increase in Game Pass price was a result of Call of Duty titles ending up on the service. Now that it’s here, perhaps a claim could be made that the quality of Modern Warfare 3’s services has dipped thanks to the cheating problem, though it’s not necessarily a big deal in terms of market.

It’s important to note that Activision didn’t address the cheaters problem as a result of the Game Pass launch. That said, the correlation between its appearance on the service and the huge spike in cheaters can’t be ignored. If Call of Duty’s launch onto Game Pass is one of the contributing factors to the price change (which Microsoft says that it isn’t), then Call of Duty’s launch onto Game Pass also looks like it’s going to be another contributing factor to the game’s own decline.

While Activison may have sorted the issue with Ricochet labelling PC players as Xbox, and therefore not subject to the same anti-cheat regulations, the game’s reputation has long been damaged. Black Ops 6’s later launch this year is an opportunity to prove that Call of Duty is not in-fact dead, though that’s going to rely on how it handles microtransactions.

When Modern Warfare 2 launched two years ago, it broke sales records as it grossed $800m in the opening weekend. For Microsoft to earn a similar wad of cash with Game Pass, it’s going to need to sell a lot of new subscriptions. There’s a strong likelihood that most Call of Duty players are already subscribed to the service; realistically speaking, it’s one of the best value for money gaming services you can get nowadays. This means that what Activision and Microsoft lose out on in traditional sales, they’re going to need to make up for with more aggressive focus on microtransactions. The game at the moment is already filled with adverts and in-game purchases, and it can only get worse from here on out.