Prolific Call of Duty Cheat Developer Insists It's Shutting Down — but Players Are Skeptical

Popular Call of Duty cheat provider, Phantom Overlay, is reportedly ceasing operations.

A Telegram announcement stated the provider wouldn't disclose the reason for its immediate closure, assuring customers it wasn't an exit scam. The provider pledged to maintain online services for an additional 32 days to ensure users with 30-day keys receive full value. Partial refunds for lifetime keys were also promised.

This sudden closure carries significant implications, as numerous other cheat providers rely on Phantom Overlay's infrastructure. The impact on the cheating ecosystem could be substantial.

Online reactions were mixed. Some gamers expressed disbelief on X (formerly Twitter), speculating about the effect on Season 3 cheat updates (source: Dexerto). Others remained unconvinced, suggesting a rebranding or the continued operation under different names.

Will You Return to Warzone for Verdansk?

Yes!No!It depends (tell us why in the comments!)I'm still playing after all these years...AnswerSee ResultsActivision recently acknowledged that its Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 anti-cheat measures fell short at the Season 1 launch, particularly impacting Ranked Play. This contradicts earlier promises to ban cheaters within an hour of their first match.

Despite this, Activision assured players that it actively bans cheaters through its Ricochet Anti-Cheat system, citing a recent wave of over 19,000 account removals.

The perceived prevalence of cheating is widely considered detrimental to competitive multiplayer, leading to criticism of Activision's response. The situation escalated to the point where console Ranked players were allowed to disable crossplay with PC players in Season 2.

While cheating isn't exclusive to Call of Duty, it's become a more significant issue since the 2020 release of the free-to-play Warzone battle royale. Despite substantial investment in anti-cheat technology and legal action against cheat developers (with several recent high-profile successes), player skepticism towards the Ricochet system persists.

Separately, a report suggests further details about the return of the popular Call of Duty Warzone Verdansk map will be revealed on March 10.