CoD players can’t play season 2 with friends due to ‘join failed because you are on a different version’ error

Call of Duty’s season two for Black Ops 6 launched yesterday after weeks of waiting for new content, and it definitely has not been without its fair share of issues.

The biggest issue by far has been an error that says “join failed because you are on a different version,” and it’s been happening consistently for players on both BO6 and Warzone whenever they try to group up for games with friends in a party.

This kind of error code pops up occasionally, especially when BO6 deploys an over-the-air update that doesn’t require a download. Players are often met with an “update requires restart” message to accompany it, and restarting the game usually fixes the problem. But not this time.

Last night, CoD’s official updates account posted that it was “investigating an issue that is intermittently preventing players from being able to join parties due to a ‘join failed’ error.” Thankfully, the error has subsided for many, but it still persists for some, and Activision has not posted an update since.

The error began popping up not long after season two kicked off at 11am CT yesterday, but it took almost nine hours for @CoDUpdates to acknowledge the problem. And since it hasn’t been addressed further, it seems as though a full fix is still in the works.

The “different version” bug thankfully only happens when trying to join with friends, so players are still able to queue up solo, but the age-old adage of one issue fixed, two more added rings true with this update.

Season two of BO6 added new weapons and multiplayer maps, but the new Zombies map The Tomb has been the main draw for most players. The round-based experienced brought back the Ice Staff Wonder Weapon and a new story quest for players to complete, culminating in a boss fight. But that’s only if they were able to group up with friends beforehand.

For now, if you’re one of the unlucky players still getting the “different version” error in BO6 or Warzone, take solace that it should be coming to an end soon, judging by the amount of players who are reporting that they are able to play just fine now.