Activision and Infinity Ward have revealed server culling for Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4, a system designed to make wallhacks harder to use by withholding enemy location data a player should not be able to see, IGN reports.
How Server Culling Is Supposed to Work
In a typical match, the server can share player-location information with game clients even when an opponent is behind cover. Wallhacks exploit that data to reveal enemies through walls, giving cheaters information their opponents are not meant to have.
Infinity Ward has built occlusion layers into Modern Warfare 4’s environments so the server can determine when a player has no legitimate way to see an opponent. In that situation, server culling is intended to keep the opponent’s location data from reaching that player’s hardware until they can see them.
The feature is set to cover every multiplayer map available at launch, and the announced scope also includes Combat Outpost, Warzone, and future updates. Activision says it will work alongside existing anti-cheat methods across all platforms, rather than replace them.
That approach addresses a different part of the problem than simply identifying suspicious play after a match. Other live-service games face the same player-trust challenge, including Helldivers 2, where dealing with suspected cheaters can also be part of the experience.
A New Obstacle, Not a Guaranteed Fix
Activision expects server culling to disrupt the cheat marketplace, but the company also acknowledges that cheat makers will look for ways to adapt. The publisher said legitimate players’ matches will play as intended, while cheat developers face a major new obstacle.
That is a promising design goal, not proof that wallhacks or other cheats are finished. Activision says it will keep working to improve the experience, and the system’s practical value will depend on how well it holds up once players and cheat developers test it in live matches.
Modern Warfare 4 Launches October 23
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4 launches on October 23, 2026, for PC, Nintendo Switch 2, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X/S. The system’s real test begins then: whether withholding hidden location data makes matches feel fairer in practice.
Wallhacks have plagued Call of Duty for years, and the franchise is one of multiplayer gaming’s most infamous examples of the problem. Match integrity also depends on players trusting the wider competitive experience, a concern that surfaces in debates around Marvel Rivals matchmaking. Server culling targets one specific source of unfair information; how much it changes that trust will be clearer after launch.
