Call of Duty cheat service Phantom Overlay appears to be closing its doors for good.
Through a Telegram announcement, the cheat creators remained vague about their sudden shutdown but emphasized: "This isn't an exit scam, and no outside force could make us betray our customers. We'll keep services running for 32 more days to ensure stability."
This 32-day grace period specifically allows users with 30-day subscriptions to utilize their full duration. The team also pledged partial refunds for lifetime license holders.
What makes this shutdown particularly impactful is how many third-party cheat services rely on Phantom Overlay's infrastructure, potentially collapsing a network of cheating tools across multiple games.
"No way!!" exclaimed one shocked player on X (formerly Twitter, via Dexerto). "Does this actually mean Activision's Season 3 anti-cheat might finally be working?!"
Skeptical voices dominated the conversation though, with another player noting: "They'll just resurface under a different name - these services always operate multiple shell companies. The cheating won't stop."
Activision recently conceded its Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 anti-cheat measures fell short during Season 1 launch, especially for Ranked Play. This came after bold promises to remove cheaters within one hour of their first match.
However, the publisher claims improved effectiveness of Ricochet Anti-Cheat has led to over 19,000 recent bans, with faster detection systems now in place.
The rampant cheating epidemic has arguably damaged competitive integrity, drawing heavy criticism toward Activision's response. Situation deteriorated so severely that Season 2 introduced an option for console players to disable PC crossplay in Ranked matches.
While cheating plagues many multiplayer titles, Activision's problems intensified after 2020's free-to-play Warzone launch. Despite massive investments in anti-cheat tech and several successful legal actions against cheat developers, player skepticism toward Ricochet's effectiveness persists.
In separate news, today's reports suggest we'll finally get confirmation about the long-awaited return of Call of Duty Warzone's iconic Verdansk map on March 10th.
