What is a Shadowban in Warzone? Limited matchmaking explained

One of Warzone’s ways to fight cheaters within the game is called Shadowbans, so here’s what being Shadowbanned means, and how to find out if you have limited matchmaking.

When entering a Warzone session, players always hope to win the match, but this gets harder when finding out a cheater is in your lobby. Either they are using wallhacks or aimbots, the fun is ruined when cheaters populate a Warzone match.

RICOCHET anti-cheat and its kernel-level drivers include several measures to counter Warzone cheaters such as detecting Cronus, turning enemies invisible, removing their weapons, and nerfing their damage, among others. Still, Activision uses other tools like limited matchmaking to help their efforts to stop hackers from ruining players’ matches.

Here’s everything you need to know about a Shadowban, including how they work and how you can find out if your account received limited matchmaking.

• What does Shadowban mean in Warzone?
• What is limited matchmaking in Warzone?
• Can you get shadowbanned in Warzone?
• How to find out if you’ve been Shadowbanned in Warzone

What does Shadowban mean in Warzone?

When a Warzone player is suspected of violating Call of Duty’s Security and Enforcement policy, their account may be placed into “a limited matchmaking state,” known as Shadowban.

This means they won’t be able to play in normal lobbies with the rest of the game’s community while Activision reviews their account. Instead, they get placed into special lobbies full of other suspected cheaters.

The limited matchmaking status will depend on the offense the player is suspected of. As of February 2024, CoD’s policy has four active offense and suspension classes:

• Minor offense: The player hasn’t done “quantifiable” damage to another player or the “game community at large.”
• Temporary suspension: These may range from “48 hours to two weeks or longer,” depending on the severity of the offense.
• Permanent suspension: They are “lasting and final” and can be applied across Call of Duty titles.
• Extreme offense: The player has “caused detriment to other players or has organized large groups of players to commit additional offenses.”

Unfortunately, because Warzone is free-to-play, once cheaters figure out what has happened to them, many make new accounts. Still, limited matchmaking is a useful tool to take them out of the regular player base into a lobby full of potential cheaters.

What is limited matchmaking in Warzone?

Limited matchmaking is the same thing as a Shadowban in Warzone, where any player suspected of “a potential violation” of the policy, will be placed into a “limited matchmaking state.” This will separate the player suspected of cheating from the rest of the player base, just like the Shadowban system.

Can you get Shadowbanned in Warzone?

Yes, a regular, non-cheating player can get Shadowbanned in Warzone. Several streamers have been Shadowbanned, and placed into limited matchmaking, and it happens to regular players all the time too.

Of course, if you are hacking and get caught by RICOCHET, don’t expect the limited matchmaking to lift. Instead, your account will become permanently suspended once reviewed.

How to find out if you’ve been Shadowbanned in Warzone

When Shadowbanned in Warzone, the initial indicator is an elevated ping reaching 200 and a long wait when attempting to find a match. When you get in a game, it’ll be laggy and might have more hackers than a usual lobby.

If you believe you’ve been tagged for limited matchmaking, you can head to the Ban Appeal section of Activision Support. Here, you’ll find out if your account is “Limited Matchmaking.”

Here’s everything you need to do:

1. Head to the Ban Appeal page on Activision Support
2. Log in with your Activision account
3. Press ‘Agree and Continue’
4. The screen will tell you if there’s No Ban Detected, your Account is Limited Matchmaking or Permanently Banned

If you believe you’ve been tagged with limited matchmaking incorrectly, your only option is to wait. Once the Support looks into your account and makes a decision, you can either continue playing as normal or your account will be fully banned, and you’ll need to submit an appeal through their site.

For more on Warzone, be sure to check out our other guides:

Best Warzone controller settings | Best Warzone PC settings | How to ping enemies in Warzone | How to use Proximity Chat in Warzone | How to get a nuke in Warzone | Best Assault Rifles in Warzone | Best SMGs in Warzone | Best FOV settings for Warzone | Best audio settings for Warzone | Does Warzone have crossplay?