Microsoft's updated anti-cheating measures go far beyond Secure Boot, including 'Remote Attestation' for online system verification

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Cheaters never prosper. I mean, they do, but they shouldn't.

Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 multiplayer
(Image credit: Activision)

I think most of us would agree that cheating is a scourge upon multiplayer gaming. Anyone who's seen a blatant wallhacker or obviously-bot-assisted player rampaging their way across the map like Rambo after too much sugar would likely agree that something should be done. Well, Microsoft appears to be doing that something, as it's laid out its latest anti-cheating features alongside the launch of Call of Duty: Black Ops 7.

Microsoft's four-pronged attack on cheating has two points you'll likely already be familiar with. The first is a Trusted Platform Module (TPM) 2.0, which many of you will recognise from the whole Windows 11 unsupported machine upgrade fiasco. The second is Secure Boot, which you may also recognise from the Battlefield 6, err, fiasco, as it needs to be properly enabled on your machine before you can play the game.

BO7 Overclocks: Two robots with assault rifles walking through a facility.

(Image credit: Activision)

According to Microsoft, you can "help game developers build trusted communities" by keeping your firmware and security features up to date, enabling TPM 2.0 and Secure Boot if you haven't already, plus keeping your eyes peeled for any dedicated pages for popular games detailing necessary protections for fair online play. In the meantime, MS says it's "working with partners to build the tools and standards that make gaming safer."

But in the end, only you can prevent forest fires. Sorry, online cheating. The listing of all these features feels like something of a clampdown on Microsoft's part, and looks to be a Windows 11-shaped extension of measures that exist on modern Xbox variants to prevent cheat-based skulduggery.

It also, y'know, prevents people from messing around and modding their consoles beyond Microsoft's liking, too. And while we'd all like online cheating to stop, it does make me wonder how much freedom and control over our own machines we'd need to give up in order to eliminate it entirely.

Is the cure worse than the disease? You decide. Still, with Microsoft's considerable weight behind these initiatives, I'd say it's likely we'll see some (or all) of them being used to some degree in most of our online games in future. I feel safer already.

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Andy Edser
Andy Edser
Hardware Writer

Andy built his first gaming PC at the tender age of 12, when IDE cables were a thing and high resolution wasn't—and he hasn't stopped since. Now working as a hardware writer for PC Gamer, Andy spends his time jumping around the world attending product launches and trade shows, all the while reviewing every bit of PC gaming hardware he can get his hands on. You name it, if it's interesting hardware he'll write words about it, with opinions and everything.

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