The Server Won’t Give Up Coordinates: How Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4 Will Fight Wallhack Cheats

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4 launches on October 23, 2026. Alongside the shooter’s release, Activision will roll out a new anti-cheat system called Server Culling. The developers set out to tackle the biggest problem in online matches — wallhacks that reveal enemies through walls. Instead of endlessly hunting for banned programs in computer memory, the studio is changing the very architecture of data exchange: the server will simply stop sending the client the coordinates of opponents the player isn’t supposed to see.

In classic online shooters, a user’s computer often knows in advance where every other player in the match is on the map. The game engine simply doesn’t render their 3D models when they’re hidden behind obstacles. Third-party software reads that hidden data from RAM and draws enemy silhouettes on top of walls.

The new Server Culling technology eliminates the very possibility of such interception. As Neowin explains, Modern Warfare 4 maps have additional visibility and occlusion layers baked in. The server continuously calculates the level’s geometry and decides whether a given player can see an opponent at that moment. While an enemy is safely behind cover, their coordinates are never sent to the user’s device at all. No data — nothing for a cheat to read and display.

Few things ruin a great match faster than wondering whether an opponent earned the win or saw you through a wall.

Wallhacks give cheaters information they were never meant to have. With Modern Warfare 4, we’re introducing a new way to fight back: Server Culling.

Here’s how it… pic.twitter.com/62m41zMbLa

— Call of Duty (@CallofDuty) October 2, 2026

Architectural Complexity and the Risk of Enemies «Popping Out of Thin Air»

This approach to limiting information on the server side has long been used in MOBAs (the Fog of War mechanic), but it’s far harder to implement in fast-paced first-person shooters. The server has to account for a host of variables in real time: half-open doors, windows, destructible objects, wallbangs and sharp camera turns. If the system miscalculates or fails to send data in time because of ping, enemies will literally start popping out of thin air right in front of the player.

That’s why it’s too early to declare the complete «death of wallhacks.» According to Destructoid, Server Culling isn’t a standalone anti-cheat but works only as an extra invisible layer inside the existing RICOCHET system. There are no independent tests of the new protection’s effectiveness or data on possible rendering errors yet.

At launch, Server Culling will work on all base multiplayer maps in Modern Warfare 4, including the DMZ and Combat Outpost modes. As Worthplaying reports, starting with Season 1, Activision plans to expand the technology to new locations and integrate it into the Call of Duty: Warzone battle royale.

The shooter itself will be released on PC, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S and Nintendo Switch 2 consoles.