Activision Threatens to Ban Call of Duty Warzone Players Using Boosting Services

Activision has threatened to ban any Call of Duty Warzone player who uses so-called ‘boosting services’ to inflate their Skill Rating (SR).

Recent weeks have seen an uptick in reports of ‘bot lobbies’, or boosting lobbies. Boosting services, which have been a problem for competitive multiplayer games for years, create boosting lobbies in which cheaters can make significant gains in their skill rating and boost up the ranks.

This problem has hit Warzone hard recently, with some saying the top of the leaderboards are filled with cheaters who used boosting lobbies to achieve their rank.

There is a Chinese boosting service offering Resurgence Ranked bot lobbies. https://t.co/0SKDgCWekp pic.twitter.com/yeUXULUP29

— OMiT Brax (@Braxtvnn) March 25, 2024

Now, Activision has responded, issuing a statement that revealed its TeamRicochet had issued multiple ban waves that resulted in 29,000 recent bans. Then came a stark warning to those using boosting lobbies: “Artificially inflating SR won’t be permitted. Accounts engaging in this behavior will be banned.”

Activision also vowed to take down the people who provide boosting lobbies: “We will consider all available technical and legal options for shutting these illicit services down.”

Activision recently launched Call of Duty Warzone Mobile, which includes cross-progression with Modern Warfare 3 and Warzone on console and PC, but not cross-play. Season 3 launches alongside Rebirth Island on April 3.

Wesley is the UK News Editor for IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.