As Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 moves to implement stronger anti-cheat measures, a major cheat provider for the game claims to be shutting down. Since Black Ops 6's launch in October 2024, the game has suffered from widespread cheating, drawing criticism from players for being slow to act on implementing stronger anti-cheat measures. In response to that criticism, however, Activision has promised significant upgrades to the game's anti-cheat features in the game's Season 3.

As spotted by ItsHapa on X and reported by Dexerto, Phantom Overlay, a notorious Call of Duty cheat provider, has announced that it's shutting down, saying, "Phantom Overlay [will begin] the process of closing immediately." Phantom Overlay, as per the announcement, will remain online for another 32 days, after which time the service will apparently cease operation - though some players aren't convinced that the end of Phantom Overlay will mean the end of cheating in COD.

Call Of Duty Cheat Provider Phantom Overlay Claims They Are Shutting Down

A Notorious Call Of Duty Cheat Provider Is Shutting Down For Unknown Reasons

Phantom Overlay, one of the most well-known cheat providers for Call of Duty, sold cheats that would allow buyers to gain unfair advantages like automatic aim or the ability to see players through walls. The service functions by selling players licenses, which grant them access to cheats - now that Phantom Overlay is shutting down. However, the service is providing 32 days for its s to use up their timed licenses and apparently will provide partial refunds for "recent lifetime purchases".

Even with Phantom Overlay shutting down, however, players are still skeptical that Black Ops 6's cheating problems will get any better. ItsGamerDoc on X, a professional anti-cheat analyst who works on Riot Games' proprietary Vanguard software (implemented in League of Legends and Valorant), said that cheaters "will just move to another vendor." Others have expressed similar worries, including the concern that Phantom Overlay itself will just pop back up under a different name in the future.

Call Of Duty: Black Ops 6 Still Has A Major Cheating Problem

The End Of Phantom Overlay Won't Be The End Of Cheating In Black Ops 6

Players have been complaining about the perceived ineffectiveness of console players to turn off crossplay with PC, but as players have continued to encounter cheaters, these measures have come to be seen as largely ineffective.

Near the time of the game's launch, Activision claimed that Black Ops 6's new anti-cheat measures would be able to detect and ban cheaters within one hour - a claim that seems to have been proven false, as players still regularly report encounters with cheaters. While the impending end of Phantom Overlay could be a promising sign for the anti-cheat updates in Season 3 of Call of Duty: Black Ops 6, players are doubtful that anything will meaningfully change.

Sources: ItsHapa/X, Dexerto, ItsGamerDoc/X