What is a ‘shadow ban’ in MW3 and Warzone? ‘Limited Matchmaking’ explained

Cheating has plagued esports and gaming for decades, and now the methods of dealing with the people who commit these acts have gotten a lot funnier. In Call of Duty: Warzone, there’s a method called “shadow banning,” and it’s an excellent way to fix the issue.

Players in games like Counter-Strike have created cheats that will make the cheater’s life harder, and now the CoD devs have several tricks up their own sleeve, like “SPLAT” which will make Warzone cheaters unable to use their parachutes.

Users who are just playing for a good time will have the pleasure and comfort of knowing any cheaters in their lobby will eventually be sent to the hell that is a shadow ban. But the system is not flawless, and oftentimes, the wrong players get punished.

This limbo could either make the game a playground for cheaters or make purchasing cheats completely worthless, meaning they’ve wasted all their hard-earned cash on cheats that won’t net them any wins.

Here are all the details of what a shadow ban is in CoD.

What is a shadow ban in MW3 and Warzone?

A shadow ban sends hackers and players who have been mass reported into what Activision calls “Limited Matchmaking.” Basically, it’s a ban without being really banned, because it limits your matchmaking pool with others who are also in the same boat. If you are shadow banned, you may be put into games with cheaters and hackers that’ll most likely be using them against you, or unable to find games at all.

Sometimes, shadow bans happen by mistake. Many players have been wrongfully shadowbanned and had the ban lifted after a review. If you think you’ve been shadowbanned for some reason, that may be why you’re here reading this article right now.

Oftentimes, players are shadow-banned after being mass-reported while Activision reviews their accounts. If this is the case, you can check your Activision account status to see if you’ve been put into Limited Matchmaking.

You won’t get any notification you’ve been shadow-banned. So, instead of a cheater receiving a ban and just making a new account, they’ll waste more time in hacker-infested lobbies before realizing they’ve been shadow-banned, and keep normal lobbies cheat-free for longer. 

How to tell if you’re shadowbanned in Call of Duty

Here’s how you’ll know if you may have been shadow-banned:

• A large number of CoD cheaters in your games.
• Constant high ping.
• Long queue times.
• Activision account is labeled for “Limited Matchmaking.”

If you’re experiencing this, we’re sorry for your loss, but only if you’ve been shadowbanned by accident and not if you’ve been banned for cheating. If you were really cheating, then you can go touch grass and kick rocks because you really stink.

Unfortunately, wrongful shadowbanning is a rather common occurrence of late, especially in Warzone and MW3, with many players reporting that they feel they were banned for no reason at all. Even 100 Thieves CEO and former CoD champion Nadeshot was wrongfully banned previously, although his sway and influence helped him get reinstated rather quickly.

If you think you’ve been wrongfully banned you can submit a ticket, and your application will be reviewed. There’s no guaranteed timetable on when you might hear back about being banned, but your best bet is to submit the ticket and hope for the best since you’re basically at the mercy of Activision the minute you agree to the user agreement when you first start up a CoD game.

How to check if you’re ‘shadow banned’ in MW3 or Warzone

If you think you’ve been shadow-banned and put into limited matchmaking and it’s a mistake, you’ll have to appeal the ban. But with Limited Matchmaking, there’s nothing you can do besides wait.

If you’re banned, head to the ban appeal page on Activision’s website, log in with your Activision ID and click the “Agree and Continue” button after the warning screen. The next page will show if your account is under review, permanently banned, or there’s no ban detected.

If you’re unbanned or it’s under review, then you likely just have to wait to see what the next steps are. If not, you can submit an appeal for the ban from here.

This article will be updated with more information if Activision makes an official statement about wrongful shadow bans or bans in the future.