Infinity Ward has permanently banned over 50,000 accounts for cheating. Given that the free-to-play battle royale has only been around for about a month now, I don’t know whether to be more impressed that Infinity Ward has been so efficient in weeding out the bad seeds… or horrified that there have been this many cheaters to uncover in the first place.

I guess it makes sense that would attract its fair share of pumpkin eaters. It’s free-to-play after all, so being hit with the old ban hammer would hurt less than if you’d been kicked out of a game you’d forked out over £50 for. Still, cheaters prosper, and if you’re winning with less-than-legitimate methods… stop. I mean, I suck at the game, but at least I have to decency to suck honestly.

The good news is that Infinity Ward and Activision are dedicated to stamping out cheaters. In a new post over on the official Activision Games Blog, the company detailed some of the anti-cheating measures that have been put in place to ensure that Verdansk remains a pure and wholesome place. Or as pure and wholesome as a deadly warzone can be, anyway.

“We take all forms of cheating very seriously, maintaining a level and fair playing field for everyone is among our highest priorities,” the company wrote. “This is an area we have been working on heavily, but it isn’t always something we discuss publicly.”

The publisher added that has diligent security teams that work around the clock surveying game data and assessing any potential issues or anomalies. The teams look at any and all possible cheats and hacks, including my personal least-favourite: the aimbot.

Of course, the security teams are also happy to work with the community, and will always review cheat reports in their endless war against cheaters. Activision said that its already working to make the act of reporting another player for cheating as easy and efficient as possible. Just remember: They’re not always hackers just because they got the jump on you. Some players are just better. In fact, in my experience, nearly every player is better than me.

If you think you’ve genuinely experienced something dodgy in and you’d like to report it, or if you’d just like to know what Activision is doing to combat the problem, you can check out the game’s Security and Enforcement Policy for further details.