The Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 Beta Is Live - And Even in Early Access, Cheaters Are Out of Control

The Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 multiplayer beta is officially live for early access players, including those who pre-ordered the game and Xbox Game Pass subscribers. The beta opens to all players on October 5, but even before general access, reports have already surfaced across social media that cheaters are running rampant in matches, a troubling sign for what should have been a smooth test of Treyarch’s latest anti-cheat systems.

As Eurogamer reported, despite multiple statements from Treyarch and Activision touting improvements to the RICOCHET Anti-Cheat system, cheaters appear to have flooded the beta within hours of launch. Activision’s own pre-beta message even challenged would-be exploiters, writing, “Cheaters will try to test the limits during the Beta. That’s exactly what we want because #TeamRICOCHET is here, watching, learning, and removing them as they appear.”

Unfortunately, those words have proven prophetic. Footage shared across X and Reddit shows players using wallhacks, aimbots, and speed modifications in early matches. While Treyarch was quick to act - with accounts already identified and banned - the appearance of cheats so early in testing raises questions about the underlying protection measures, especially since RICOCHET has been touted as one of the most advanced kernel-level anti-cheat systems in the industry.

🙃🙃🙃🙃🙃 https://t.co/kQ3aKLHNZV

— Bre Eazyy (@BreEazyy) October 2, 2025

The rapid spread of cheating has once again ignited debate within the community about whether post-ban enforcement is enough. On one hand, immediate bans demonstrate that RICOCHET’s detection is working as intended. On the other, many players argue that reactive measures fail to prevent the real damage, ruined matches, wasted time, and frustration during a limited-time beta. The irony is further highlighted by comparisons to EA’s Battlefield 6, which implements Secure Boot-based protections designed to block cheats before they even reach the game client.

For long-time fans, it’s a familiar cycle. Each year’s Call of Duty release faces an ongoing war between developers and cheat makers, with both sides escalating their methods in an endless game of cat and mouse. Anti-cheat teams are increasingly using machine learning and behavioral analysis to catch offenders, but as the Black Ops 7 beta shows, early infiltration remains a challenge.

While Treyarch has assured players that RICOCHET will continue to “learn” and improve throughout the beta, the initial reaction has been far from reassuring. For players who waited eagerly to test out Black Ops 7’s new mechanics and modes, encountering blatant cheaters within the first day leaves a sour impression.

As long as online competition exists, cheating will likely never be fully eradicated, but expectations are higher than ever for a franchise as dominant as Call of Duty. The question now is whether Treyarch’s system can adapt quickly enough to protect the experience before the game’s full release later this year.