Warzone devs flex upcoming anti-cheat in cheeky Vanguard easter egg

Theo Salaun
warzone anti cheat vanguard trailer easter egg

Call of Duty’s developers seem very confident in Warzone’s upcoming anti-cheat system — as the studio snuck a bold easter egg into their trailer while revealing Vanguard’s integration plans.

Multiple studios have been involved in Warzone, CoD’s battle royale, since release. It was built on Infinity Ward’s Modern Warfare 2019 engine, then handed over for management by Raven Software, who helped integrate the game with Treyarch’s Black Ops Cold War.

And through all that time, Verdansk has, and has continued to be, a safe haven for hackers.

A working anti-cheat has been on the top of most streamers and players’ wishlists for a long while now, right alongside a new map. And it turns out, with Sledgehammer Games’ Vanguard, the CoD studios are confident that their upcoming anti-cheat will deliver.

During the Vanguard multiplayer reveal, the devs shared some information about the anti-cheat plans. And, amplifying their confidence in the system, eagle-eyed fans noticed a literal ban hammer in the trailer.

Now that might not seem like a substantial piece of information, but it does carry weight. With the failed efforts of hardware bans and website closures to completely nullify hackers, a lot is riding on the new anti-cheat.

And, with how much CoD has been pushing hints and teasers, as well as full news, about the upcoming anti-cheat — the developers are simply raising expectations. And, in doing so, they’re putting pressure on themselves to meet said expectations.

All of this building hype can result in one of two things. Either the anti-cheat works admirably and hackers are erased from Warzone it fails and hackers continue to run around ruining games.

With all of the effort CoD’s studios are putting into showing their confidence in the upcoming system, they’re simply making its efficiency a bigger deal. If it works, they’ll be applauded and player morale will skyrocket.

If it doesn’t work, after all of this buildup? CoD social media might get ugly.

About The Author

Théo is a former writer at Dexerto based in New York and built on competition. Formerly an editor for Bleacher Report and philosophy student at McGill, he fell in love with Overwatch and Call of Duty — leading him to focus on esports for Dex.