Activision has unveiled the new requirements for its Ricochet anti-cheat system in Call of Duty: Black Ops 7, describing the upgraded safety measure as the “most sophisticated protection yet.” Cheating has been one of the biggest challenges for the franchise, and many fans are concerned it could once again impact the multiplayer experience in Call of Duty: Black Ops 7.

By January 2025, Treyarch reported banning over 136,000 cheaters in Call of Duty: Black Ops 6. Despite this, gamers have continued to complain about malware users, often citing them as the main reason for declining player numbers. Now, Activision seems ready to crack down harder on cheaters, signaling stricter requirements for the upcoming installment.

Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 Open Beta Anti-Cheat Requirements

PC players joining Call of Duty: Black Ops 7‘s open beta in October must have both Secure Boot and Trusted Platform Module 2.0 (TPM) enabled. Otherwise, they’ll see a warning that their device doesn’t meet the new anti-cheat requirements. For most Windows 11 users, these features are already active by default, so little to no adjustment will be needed. Windows 10 users, however, may need to update their system and manually enable Secure Boot.

• Secure Boot must be enabled
• TPM 2.0 must be activated

Many players have voiced concerns about potential issues with Black Ops 7‘s anti-cheat requirements. One fan noted, “The problem [is not] just turning on TPM or Secure Boot, it’s updating the BIOS and seeing that the TPM firmware is old.” Similar issues came up when Battlefield 6 mandated Secure Boot and TPM in its beta. Understandably, many Call of Duty fans now worry the new Ricochet requirements could lock them out of the beta or even prevent them from playing Black Ops 7 when it launches in November.

Credit: via Treyarch / Call of Duty

Activision’s announcement doesn’t mention any plans to tackle cheating on home consoles. While Secure Boot and TPM 2.0 may reduce cheating on PC, they won’t stop devices like the infamous Cronus Zen, which some console players use for unfair advantages. It’s also unclear whether Black Ops 7 will introduce new forms of macro detection on consoles, a feature that Battlefield 6‘s anti-cheat system is already set to expand.

It’s worth noting that Secure Boot and TPM were introduced to Call of Duty games and Warzone back in August with the launch of Season Five, but they were never required to play. Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 will be the first installment to mandate both features. It remains to be seen how these new safety measures will affect the open beta and launch of Black Ops 7, as well as how the fan base will adapt.