Call of Duty: Ghosts hacking: Infinity Ward brings ban-hammer

For the PC version of Call of Duty: Ghosts, it would appear that Infinity Ward has had enough of the hacking nonsense that's been running rampant for weeks. To make certain the PC crowd understands what they'll be dealing with from this point forward, Infinity Ward has issued an announcement regarding 3rd party software. Any user found playing Call of Duty: Ghosts online with 3rd party software attached – cheating, that is – will be banned permanently.

Adding a bit of information to the Call of Duty: Ghosts Online Code of Conduct this week is COD:G community leader Candyslexia, who brings word that this is a "First Offense" sort of situation. If any user "runs a modified version [of the original] game code or uses a modified game profile", they'll be subject to penalty. We're using the word "penalty" lightly, because it essentially means that user will receive the ban-hammer directly to their digital person, so to speak:

FIRST OFFENSE: User will be permanently banned from playing the game online, will have their stats reset, and will be blocked permanently from appearing in leaderboards.

1. Console users who modify their hardware or profile data will also be reported to console manufacturers.

2. PC users on Steam will be reported to the Steam enforcement team.

3. This includes any PC users running third party software to manipulate the game.

In other words – hackers beware. Having a peek even at our original Call of Duty: Ghosts review should give you a decent idea of how badly this game has suffered from hackers on the PC side thus far. When a game suffers hacking so badly the game itself gets bad reviews because of it, it's time to do something.

But is it enough? We'll be finding out soon – stick with us as we keep an eye on Call of Duty: Ghosts' online PC community to see if hackers begin to disappear – or if this is only a temporary measure.