Cheating has been a major problem for competitive multiplayer games, and continues to be one for shooters such asCall of Duty: Warzone.Warzonehas been plagued with cheatingsince launch, and Activision has taken steps to try to resolve the issue. However, one of the methods for rooting out cheaters and hackers has possibly hurt some regular players.
Call of Duty: Warzonehas an in-game function that allows players to report others for cheating of any kind. However, variousCall of Dutyplayers and content creators report being supposedly “shadowbanned” for cheating inWarzonewhen they didn’t. The players state that after being reported by opponents, for one reason or another, they were blacklisted from regular matchmaking and placed in lobbies with other cheaters that have long queue times.
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Recently, YouTuber Tomographic shared his experience of being “shadowbanned” inWarzoneand how it impacted his gameplay online. In a video uploaded December 25, he said his account had been blacklisted from regular matchmaking and moved him to what he called a “cheater’s bracket.” Whenever Tomographic played a game with his friends, the hackers were there as well. Tomographic attributed his ban to usingthe DMR 14 inWarzone, a powerful rifle he describes as “broken” that gave some players the impression he was cheating.
Tomographic advises players to avoid using weapons like the DMR 14 until the banning system is improved. The issue isn’t a recent development, and stretches back to this past April when various players raised the issue of theiraccounts suddenly being banned in bothModern WarfareandWarzone. The issue was brought up on the Activision Support forums many times as players reported playingWarzonefor a few matches before being inexplicably banned.
Some commonalities include being given no reason for the ban, losing access toWarzoneon PC, and receiving up to 200 pings before being matched - up if they ever do. Even when some of them started new accounts the bans carried over. WhileActivision reversed some of the bans inModern Warfare, it doesn’t appear the company will do the same withWarzoneanytime soon.
The “shadowbanning” issue has cropped up repeatedly throughout the year and continues in December as well. At the time of writing, Activision has not provided an official response or comment as players continue to be reportedly “shadowbanned” inCall of Duty: Warzone.
Call of Duty: Warzoneis available on PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
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