Activate Battlefield 6 on PC: Guide to Enabling Secure Boot in Windows Operating System
In a move aimed at combating increasingly sophisticated kernel-level cheats, Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 and 7 will require Secure Boot and TPM 2.0, similar to Battlefield 6, due to the new hardware-level cheat detection in RICOCHET anti-cheat.
What is Secure Boot?
Secure Boot is a Windows security feature that ensures a PC boots only with trusted, signed software and drivers by verifying the integrity of the operating system kernel at startup. This prevents unauthorized code or cheats from loading before the game even launches, which is a common cheat vector.
Requirements for Black Ops 7
For Black Ops 7, enabling Secure Boot and TPM 2.0 is mandatory to play on PC. PCs without these features enabled may be blocked from playing Black Ops 7 or face warnings. This new requirement places a significant emphasis on players' hardware and BIOS settings.
Optional Secure Boot for Black Ops 6
Currently, Secure Boot enforcement for Black Ops 6 is optional, but it will become mandatory with Black Ops 7. This means that PCs without Secure Boot may face issues in the future.
No Impact on Game Performance
It's worth noting that these features run security checks during system boot and game startup but do not affect game performance or FPS during play.
Enabling Secure Boot and TPM 2.0
To enable Secure Boot in Windows 10 and Windows 11, restart your PC, enter the BIOS, navigate to the Advanced mode, Boot or Secure Boot menu, and set the Secure Boot state to enabled or Windows UEFI mode. Enabling TPM 2.0 may require changing the BIOS Mode to UEFI.
For a smooth transition, if the drive is in MBR and needs to be converted to GPT to change the BIOS Mode to UEFI, you can use the commands and in the Command Prompt in admin mode.
Industry-wide Trend
This move aligns with industry trends, mirroring similar anti-cheat hardware requirements in games like Battlefield 6. The Battlefield 6 Open Beta starts on August 7, with full access beginning on August 9.
In summary, Secure Boot strengthens anti-cheat defenses by ensuring only trusted firmware and software run at the system startup stage, making cheating significantly harder for Black Ops 6 (optional now) and Black Ops 7 (mandatory). This security foundation complements Activision's RICOCHET Anti-Cheat to help provide fair play without reducing performance. However, it places a new requirement on players' hardware and BIOS settings to enable Secure Boot and TPM 2.0.
- To combat kernel-level cheats in Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 and 7, Secure Boot and TPM 2.0, similar to Battlefield 6, are necessary due to the new hardware-level cheat detection in Microsoft's RICOCHET anti-cheat.
- Secure Boot is a Windows security feature that ensures a PC boots with only trusted, signed software and drivers, preventing unauthorized code or cheats from loading before the game even launches.
- For Black Ops 7, Secure Boot and TPM 2.0 are mandatory for playing on PC, with PCs without these features potentially being blocked or warned.
- For Black Ops 6, Secure Boot enforcement is currently optional, but it will become mandatory with Black Ops 7, meaning PCs without Secure Boot could face future issues.
- Enabling Secure Boot in Windows 10 and Windows 11 requires entering the BIOS, navigating to Advanced mode, Boot or Secure Boot menu, and setting the Secure Boot state to enabled or Windows UEFI mode.
- This move towards hardware-based anti-cheat measures is an industry-wide trend, mirroring similar requirements in games like Battlefield 6, which has an Open Beta starting on August 7.
- As more games adopt hardware-level cheat detection, the emphasis on cybersecurity and smartphone-computing gadgets with data-and-cloud-computing capabilities has become significant.
- This shift in technology not only strengthens anti-cheat defenses in gaming but potentially paves the way for improved hardware security across various software platforms, including Microsoft's software ecosystem on laptops, desktops, and the Xbox console.
