Call of Duty developers Activision have released a new report stating that video‑game cheat users spend roughly $8.5 billion each year.
The team behind Call of Duty’s Ricochet anti‑cheat system shared a blog post explaining why combating cheating is essential. The report notes that subscriptions to cheat tools such as aim‑bots—which provide perfect aim—range from $40 to $100 per month, while additional “spoofing” services that help evade bans can push annual costs above $1,000.
“A February analysis by threat‑intelligence firm Intorqa estimated that cheat subscriptions across 15 games generate about $3.5 billion annually. When you add related markets like account sales, boosting, spoofing and other services, the broader cheating economy reaches roughly $8.5 billion per year,” Activision wrote.
RICOCHET Anti-Cheat doesn’t end when your match does.
Cheat makers operate around the world. So do we. We’re taking the fight directly to cheat sellers.
Last weekend during the Closed Beta, we went to Ohio to takedown Elocarry.
That’s not an isolated case… pic.twitter.com/IP69qlGgDD
— Call of Duty (@CallofDuty) August 28, 2026
Activision says newer updates to Ricochet are designed to locate cheat developers and enable legal action against them. “We have combined technical detection with ongoing legal efforts to destabilize the cheat ecosystem at every level,” the company stated. “We’ve disrupted more than 375 reseller operations, issued over 80 cease‑and‑desist letters, and helped shut down 31 primary cheat vendors.”
“Ultimately, cheating is a losing investment,” they added. “Each time we identify and remove a bad actor, the money they spent on cheats disappears with them—all for a fleeting ego boost. Ricochet Anti‑Cheat continues to make cheating harder, riskier, and more costly to sustain. Our layered approach adds friction across the market, shifting behavior. The ecosystem evolves, and so do we.”
The announcement arrives ahead of the launch of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4 next month. The full game will be available on October 23, with pre‑orderers gaining access to the single‑player campaign starting October 16. Developers have described Modern Warfare 4 as the “epic conclusion” to the narrative that began with the 2019 reboot.