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Call of Duty is stepping up its fight against cheaters in a big way, just ahead of the launch of Ranked Play in Season 02 for Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 and Call of Duty: Warzone.

The game’s RICOCHET Anti-Cheat team has confirmed a stronger, cloud-based security system is coming, designed to stop cheaters before a match even begins. For competitive players, this could be one of the most important updates Call of Duty has rolled out in years.

A New Security Layer Before Matches Start

According to the RICOCHET Anti-Cheat team, Ranked Play in Season 02 will introduce remote, cloud-based attestation, an extra layer of protection that checks a player’s PC integrity before loading into a match.

This new system builds on existing requirements like TPM 2.0 and Secure Boot, but goes further by using Microsoft Azure Attestation to verify that system-level protections have not been tampered with.

RICOCHET describes this as the most robust attestation technology available today, setting what it calls a new security bar for one of Call of Duty’s most competitive modes.

Why This Matters For Ranked Play

Cheating has long been a major frustration in competitive playlists, especially in high-skill modes tied closely to esports standards. By verifying PC integrity before a match starts, the new system aims to block cheats that attempt to bypass low-level protections.

This approach is being introduced first in Ranked Play, giving competitive players the most secure experience possible. Casual modes are not part of this rollout for now, but the focus on Ranked shows where Call of Duty sees the biggest risk and impact.

Most Players Will Not Need To Change Anything

The good news for most PC players is that no extra setup should be required. The RICOCHET team says the majority of systems are already compliant with the new checks.

However, players are encouraged to double-check their settings ahead of Season 02 to avoid last-minute issues. Those who do need help can follow Activision’s official guides to ensure everything is enabled correctly.

TPM 2.0 And Secure Boot Explained

TPM 2.0, or Trusted Platform Module 2.0, is a hardware-based security feature built into modern PCs running Windows. Secure Boot works alongside it, ensuring only trusted software loads during startup.

Both features help protect against low-level cheats and are now mandatory for playing Black Ops 7 and Warzone on PC. These requirements were first introduced during Season 05 in August 2025.

Players without TPM 2.0 enabled may see an in-game warning when launching the game. In some cases, a BIOS firmware update may be required, especially on older motherboards.

Windows 11 users likely already have both features enabled by default. Windows 10 players must be running version 22H2 or later, with TPM 2.0 fully active. Legacy TPM versions, such as 1.0 or 1.2, are not supported.

Strong Results So Far In Black Ops 7

For the Black Ops 7 cycle, Activision has clearly made anti-cheat a top priority. During the Black Ops 7 beta, the publisher claimed that 97 percent of hackers were detected and banned within 30 minutes of signing in.

With cloud-based attestation now joining Secure Boot and TPM 2.0, Activision is hoping to reduce cheating even further, particularly in modes that mirror professional competition.

Season 02 Launch Date And What’s Coming

Based on the in-game Battle Pass countdown, Season 02 for Black Ops 7 and Warzone is set to launch on February 5, 2026.

The update will introduce Ranked Play across multiplayer and battle royale, offering an experience designed to reflect the structure and rules of the Call of Duty League and major Warzone tournaments.

With stronger anti-cheat measures stopping cheaters before matches begin, all eyes will be on whether Ranked Play can finally deliver a consistently fair and competitive environment.