DMA setup for Call of Duty: one anti-cheat, a new game every year
The multiplayer Call of Duty titles share one anti-cheat and nothing else. Learn which rules apply to each title, why the November release breaks builds, and what 6v6 needs.
Short answer
Call of Duty's multiplayer titles run the same RICOCHET stack as Warzone, which from Black Ops 7 onward includes TPM 2.0 and Secure Boot enforcement. The architecture matches any other DMA build, but the yearly switch to a new title is what breaks it.
On this page10
- One anti-cheat across every current Call of Duty title
- Which rules apply to each Call of Duty title?
- Why the November release breaks builds
- Which layers does a multiplayer build need?
- The right order to start a session
- Call of Duty checklist before each match
- Common Call of Duty problems and fixes
- Call of Duty setup questions
- Checking support before you buy
- Sources
One anti-cheat across every current Call of Duty title
Every modern Call of Duty release runs RICOCHET Anti-Cheat, Activision's in-house stack. It has five parts: a PC kernel-level driver, client-side monitoring of what runs during a session, server-side behavioural detection, in-game mitigations, and detection for third-party hardware that alters gameplay. Activision publishes a RICOCHET update most seasons, and the current series of posts is filed under Black Ops 7. The RICOCHET team has also said publicly that its device detections target classes of machine-driven behaviour rather than a single signature. Because the devices themselves are configurable, a single signature would not hold.
Which rules apply to each Call of Duty title?
A build is written against one title and one client build, so it is easy to buy for the wrong game if you skip this comparison. The security requirements come from Activision's support article on TPM 2.0 and Secure Boot, as it read on 27 August 2026.
| Title | Anti-cheat | Security requirements Activision lists | Build implication |
|---|---|---|---|
| Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 | RICOCHET | TPM 2.0 and Secure Boot required | Newest engine build and the title the current RICOCHET posts are filed under |
| Call of Duty: Warzone | RICOCHET | TPM 2.0 and Secure Boot required; players who do not meet them may be matched separately | Separate title, separate page, separate status row — see the Warzone guide |
| Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4 beta | RICOCHET | Both required for any online play during the beta | A beta client is its own build and nothing written against a live title applies to it |
| Older annual titles still online | RICOCHET | Not listed in Activision's current requirements article | Read that as not listed today, not as never. Requirements have been added to titles after launch |
Before you buy, check which title and which storefront the product page names. A build for one Call of Duty does not carry over to the next one, because the annual release resets everything.
Warning
Why the November release breaks builds
Seasonal patches break builds for days, but the annual release breaks them completely. Each new Call of Duty is a new client and a new engine build, and as Black Ops 7 showed, it can also bring new hardware requirements for the game PC. Firmware and cards carry over, while anything written against a specific game build does not. If you are buying in October, understand what that purchase means once November arrives. Read the status row for the build you run, not for the franchise as a whole.
Which layers does a multiplayer build need?
Multiplayer is 6v6 on small maps with a short time to kill, which changes the calculation compared with a battle royale. A player's position stays useful for a shorter time, so an information-only build on a second screen is worth less than it is in Warzone. As a result, people turn to the input layer sooner. That input layer is the one Ricochet's device detection targets, and it is also the one that shows up on a killcam for eleven other people. A fuser stays cosmetic: it moves the overlay and nothing more.
The right order to start a session
- Confirm which title and client build you are on, including the storefront, launcher and game version
- Launch the game on its own and reach a lobby with no reader attached
- If the title requires Secure Boot and TPM 2.0, confirm that both requirements are met
- Read today's status row for the build you run, and check that its product page names this title
- Boot the second PC, confirm the card enumerates, then start the reader
- Launch the game, let the anti-cheat finish starting up, and then attach
- If a fuser is in the video path, set borderless fullscreen and match the resolution and refresh rate on both machines
Call of Duty checklist before each match
- You know which title the build targets, and that is the title you are launching
- The game reaches a lobby on its own before the reader is involved
- Secure Boot and TPM 2.0 are enabled on the game PC where the title requires them
- The status row you read is for the build you run, not for another Call of Duty product
- The card is in its data port, and the reader was attached before launch
- The game PC sees any input device as a standard mouse
- You noted the client's build number, so you can tell a game patch from an anti-cheat change
Common Call of Duty problems and fixes
| Symptom | Likely cause | Fix |
|---|---|---|
| The reader attaches, but nothing reads correctly after an update | The client build changed, because a seasonal patch, a hotfix or the annual release updated the game underneath the build | Stop, check the status board for the new build, and wait for a published update instead of retrying |
| You bought a build for the wrong game | Warzone and the multiplayer titles are separate products with separate status rows | Match the titles named on the product page to the game you launch, and if the page is unclear, ask support before you order |
| The game will not launch after BIOS changes on the game PC | Secure Boot or TPM state changed, and the title enforces both | Return the BIOS to a state where the game launches on its own, then change one setting at a time |
| Everything worked until the November release | A new annual title is a new client build, and nothing game-specific survives it | Expect this and plan for it: hardware and firmware carry over, but game-specific builds are rewritten |
Call of Duty setup questions
Is Call of Duty's anti-cheat the same as Warzone's?
Yes. RICOCHET Anti-Cheat covers the protected Call of Duty titles, including Warzone, with the same kernel driver, the same server-side detections and the same hardware-verification layers.
Do the multiplayer titles require TPM 2.0 and Secure Boot?
Activision's support article lists the requirement for Black Ops 7, Warzone and the Modern Warfare 4 beta. Older titles are not listed in the current article, but that describes the situation today, not a permanent exemption.
Will one build cover MW3, BO6 and BO7?
Only if its product page names all three. One product can cover several titles, so read the list on the page for the build you buy and treat any title it leaves out as unsupported.
Does Ricochet look at input devices?
ReportedActivision has published detections for third-party hardware devices that alter gameplay, built to spot classes of machine-driven input behaviour rather than a single device signature. The input layer is where a build is most visible.
Is a Call of Duty build working right now?
The store sells an external Call of Duty cheat for MW3 and BO6 at /products/call-of-duty and a DMA cheat at /products/cod-dma. Only the status board can say whether either works today, and it lists each build separately with its own date.
Info
Checking support before you buy
Whether a Call of Duty build works this week can only be checked on the status board. The franchise runs one anti-cheat across several clients, and the client is the part that breaks. Read the status row for the exact build you run alongside the date your title last updated, and ask support before you spend money.
Sources
Everything else comes from bench work, such as which client build each title ships and what a season changed, and the November release resets all of it.
- 01Trusted Platform Module and Secure Boot (Activision Support)
the publisher's own TPM 2.0 and Secure Boot requirement for the listed Call of Duty titles
support.activision.com
Read next
- DMA setup for Warzone: Ricochet, Secure Boot and TPM
- What are DMA cheats and how do they work
- Firmware vs software cheat
- BIOS settings for DMA on the game PC
- How to read the build status board
- DMA setup for Dead by Daylight: EAC, anti-cheat trials and 4v1 play
- Deadlock: a shooter with a MOBA underneath it
- DMA setup for Delta Force: ACE, Secure Boot and DMA Shield
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