Thousands of Call of Duty players say they’ve been falsely banned

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II players are being banned by the thousands, and fans claim they are random and unjustified.

A new report from Insider Gaming says that thousands of players are claiming to have been falsely banned from the recently-released game, and the reasons why aren’t quite clear. Emails sent by Activision, the game’s publisher, state that the accounts have been banned for “using unauthorised software and manipulation of game data”. Despite many players claiming they’ve never used any unauthorised software or altered the game files, Activision further said in emails sent to affected players that the bans will not be overturned, though it is possible to apply for an appeal nonetheless.

Insider Gaming reports that, in a previous instance of mass ban waves in Battlefield 2042, one seemingly significant factor uncovered in their research was the prevalence of RGB software among the banned players. This software, such as Logitech’s G Hub and Razer Synapse, has been known to cause false positives in anti-cheat software in the past, alongside software like screen overlays and even some screen recording software. The outlet suggests players should disable these programs in the meantime if they’re worried about false bans.

Call of Duty Modern Warfare II. Picture: Activision

It’s not yet possible to know if RGB software is indeed the cause of the mass bans in this specific instance, as Activision is yet to comment on players’ complaints. Previous unfair bans in the first Modern Warfare game and the free-to-play Call of Duty: Warzone were quietly lifted months after the initial ban date, according to Kotaku. Whether or not Activision will do the same with Modern Warfare II remains to be seen.

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II was recently announced by PlayStation to be the biggest Call of Duty launch on the PlayStation Store ever, with new reports from Barron’s today suggesting it could be the fastest selling entry in the series across all platforms since the series began in 2003. It comes at a time where Activision Blizzard’s success is being heavily scrutinised and picked apart by regulators as part of an attempted acquisition of the company by Microsoft. Barring objections from regulators, the deal is expected to close mid-2023.

Written by Oliver Brandt on behalf of GLHF.