While account bans can and do happen for valid reasons, the amount ofCall of Dutyplayers complaining that they are being shadow banned is unprecedented.Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2players are gearing up for Season 3which will see the return of some fan-favorite characters and game modes, but it seems that something has gone awry that will end up preventing players from accessing or enjoying the new content when it releases on April 12.
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2is the latest game in the massively popular first-person shooter franchise which has been at the center of the dispute between Sony and Microsoft around the latter’s attempt to acquire Activision Blizzard. The franchiseis something of a cultural phenomenon in the gaming context to the point that players haverecreated popularCall of Dutymaps in other games, resulting in Activision issuing DMCA takedowns.
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The shadow ban issueCall of Dutyplayers are faced with is not a new development; there is a petition on Change.org that was started in 2019 that has been signed by over 31,000 people who feel that they have received unjustified bans, but in recent weeks there has been an uptick in the amount of people reporting unfair shadow bans. It appears that the reporting system is at the root of the problem with some players abusing it to get others banned unfairly. According to many players, the system uses an automated algorithm that is currently dishing out bans left and right in response to players that spam it with false reports.
The only recourse players have right now is logging a support ticket through Activision’s official site, however it takes time for the company to respond and investigate the issues, so naturally a lot of players are frustrated. In some cases players are waiting out temporary bans only to get banned again almost immediately after the initial ban is lifted.Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2is in line for an updated anti-cheat systemthat will hopefully address the issue of players getting automatically penalized for no good reason.
It is sad to see so many players getting the short end of the stick, and it is unclear why there have been so many people getting shadow bans in recent weeks. For those affected it will be difficult to get excited for Season 3 ofCall of Duty: Modern Warfare 2even with a fan-favorite game mode returningahead of the April 12 release.
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2is available now for PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
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