Activision and Infinity Ward reveal a new feature coming to Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4‘s anti-cheat system called Server Culling, a way to prevent wall hacks from ruining multiplayer gameplay. In addition to revealing new content and game modes for Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4, Activision is reiterating its stance on fair play by continuing to bring the fight to cheat makers and those using exploits to ruin online play for others.
Cheating in multiplayer games continues to be a thorn in the side of many developers, with the tools available continuing to evolve with new technology. Companies are also forced to stay on the forefront by continuing to develop advanced methods of detecting and preventing, though it is commonly easier said than done. Helldivers 2 and Battlefield 6 continue to release new anti-cheat methods, while other games like ARC Raiders are looking to strengthen their systems to help their current player base push back against those exploiting unfair advantages. Call of Duty is staying aggressive even with Modern Warfare 4 set for launch later this month.
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4 Adds Server Culling Feature
Anti-cheat continues to be a major focus for Activision with Modern Warfare 4 and the company revealed its latest feature being added to Call of Duty‘s Ricochet Anti-Cheat system. Known as Server Culling, this feature essentially blocks location data typically sent to the player’s hardware from the game client, which is commonly what hackers use to steal information and display players through walls. This custom-built visibility system builds occlusion layers into each map, helping the server understand when to send or when to withhold player location data.
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Naturally, legitimate players will never see or be impacted by what’s going on behind the scenes, multiplayer modes will play out as expected. Activision is hoping Server Culling is a major new obstacle for cheat makers, safeguarding multiplayer matches from those attempting to hack or gain an unfair advantage. Server Culling will be available on all Modern Warfare 4 multiplayer maps at launch, including inside of Call of Duty‘s updated DMZ mode, Outposts, as well as all Season 1 content updates across all game modes.
Shutting down hackers and cheating has seemingly been a top priority for years now, though it has seemingly led to mixed results. However, in advance of the launch of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4, Activision has seemingly escalated its attempts to stop cheaters in their tracks with these new upgraded features for the Ricochet Anti-Cheat system. What has surprised many is that Activision is also hunting down Call of Duty cheat makers in real life, as the company has posted videos of individuals like Elocarry being served with cease-and-desist papers at their homes. Activision has been proactive in stopping these individuals since the closed beta earlier this year, likely making this footage public to put others on notice as well.
In addition to continuing to strengthen its online systems, Activision is also adding one of the most requested features to Call of Duty: Warzone with an operator toggle. Cosmetics in Call of Duty continues to generate plenty of debates in the community, with many unhappy with some of the collaborations the franchise has seen, such as Nicky Minaj. However, Modern Warfare 4 will have an Operator Toggle in Warzone that essentially adds a filter over teammates, enemy players, and squad mates. Basically, it visually replaces any equipped cosmetic from a previous Call of Duty game with a default one from Modern Warfare 4, preventing them from seeing Rick and Morty, Bevis and Butthead, or any other cosmetic from a previous game.
- Released
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October 23, 2026
- Multiplayer
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Online Multiplayer, Online Co-Op