BO6: How to fix ‘join failed because you are on a different version’

There’s a new Black Ops 6 update in town, and with it comes the newest Zombies map, The Tomb. But it’s not the only new arrival.

With every patch comes the potential for error codes, and the “Join failed because you are on a different version” is one you might encounter. If this error is preventing you from experiencing all the new map has to offer, like getting your hands on the new Staff of Ice, you’ll want to try this fix before you attempt to hop into a new game.

Here’s the solution for the “Join failed because you are on a different version” message in Call of Duty: BO6.

What is ‘Join failed because you are on a different version’ in BO6?

Typically, the reason why you’re getting the “Join failed because you are on a different version” is because you’re attempting to play BO6 on an older version of the game. This situation happens when a new update has hit live servers, and your version of the FPS has not been updated yet. If you’re playing the game when the update goes live or if you somehow manage to skirt by without updating to the latest patch, your game will flag the discrepancy in versions.

This doesn’t always include a download, however, as CoD often uses the notorious “update requires restart” message to let you know that your game is an older version. So, restarting is a good place to start in an attempt to fix this issue.

This recurring error has happened quite a bit over the past few years of CoD games, and looks to continue in BO6 for the foreseeable future. Thankfully, it’s an easy fix and doesn’t require much hard work to iron out.

How to fix ‘Join failed because you are on a different version’ in BO6

Luckily for CoD players, there’s a simple fix for this, involving the following steps:

• Exit the game
• Check for any updates in your game launcher
• Download the latest patch
• Restart your console or PC
• Launch BO6 again and retry joining a lobby

If you’re trying to play on the new update with friends, everyone in the party needs to follow these steps. When everyone relaunches with the newest version of the game, you should be able to start a lobby without any issue. If you’re still experiencing this issue, however, some users in one recent Reddit thread have suggested trying to join a different member of the group’s lobby or checking the integrity of the files. Others said simply restarting their game did the trick, and this is the most common fix. If you’re trying to group up with friends in a party, simply have everyone close and re-open their games to get back into the action.

Sometimes, however, the issue is a bit more complex. Like on the launch day of season two for BO6 when there was an error that was causing the message to pop up, something that needed to be investigated by the game’s developers.

Now that you’ve learned more about this error code, why not read up on how to complete the Hunter and Bull murals in The Tomb before you hop into the new Zombies map? You’ll also want to check out how to upgrade the Staff of Ice and how to complete all the camo challenges in Warzone.