TimTheTatman And CouRage Did The Unthinkable
"Call of Duty: Warzone" has an infamous hacker problem. Activision regularly updates the popular battle royale's playerbase on its attempts to combat the situation, using new anti-cheat systems and other precautions, but the cheaters still somehow find a way to slip between the cracks. It's an issue that affects all players, including streamers. So, when CouRage and TimTheTatman celebrated a recent hacker ban, it seemed to be a win for fans and community members in general.
A pair of cheaters reportedly targeted CouRage, TimTheTatman, NICKMERCS, and Cloakzy while they were streaming as a "Warzone" squad. What was supposed to be fun get-together turned into a frustrating game, thanks to the cheats involved. The experience prompted CouRage to directly tag Activision and Raven Software on Twitter, saying it would be "beneficial" to have someone "ban blatant cheaters on the spot."
"Currently, there are two cheaters joining our lobbies and ruining our Warzone experience with about 150,000 live viewers watching," he said.
The response wasn't instant, but the streamers got what they wanted a couple hours later during the same stream. As seen in a clip shared by Charlie INTEL, CouRage, TimTheTatman, and Cloakzy were spectating when the cheaters suddenly disappeared from the match.
The streamer squad erupted into cheers as they celebrated successfully getting the cheater banned. According to Charlie INTEL, Wipz, TimTheTatman's assistant, has reportedly confirmed with Raven Software that this was a ban and not just a disconnect, proving that the dev was listening to their pleas.
But hackers still run rampant
"We actually did it... Hacker banned LIVE on stream," the CouRage tweeted. The clip of the incident and an extended video regarding the situation didn't take long to circulate across social media.
The situation received mixed reactions from the fanbase. Some onlookers were unsympathetic, saying that streamers shouldn't have preferential treatment for an issue that affects all players. One person said that the move was likely a publicity stunt on the devs' part and it wouldn't lead to anything in the long run. Another argued that banning any hackers at all is a win, regardless of the circumstances. Regular players likely have to wait for the hacking problem to significantly improve across lobbies.
In fact, some incidents actually point to a worsening situation. Some "Warzone" hackers don't just cheat to win games and troll players — they have also targeted personal accounts and hardware. Players have reported hackers holding accounts for ransom, or resetting them to level 1, erasing all their in-game accomplishments. One bold hacker even explained the entire process to their victims and claimed that they didn't care about getting banned.