I’ve by no means been banned from a videogame and even obtained a single warning earlier than. However generally, merely enjoying by the e-book is not sufficient to keep away from a ban. Perhaps you have run into a couple of too many salty gamers who’ve reported you out of spite, or possibly you bought a message in-game telling you that third-party software program has been discovered in your PC, regardless that that is not true. I can not think about what I’d do on this state of affairs, however one participant often known as b00lin determined that he wasn’t going to face for it.
Sooner or later, after 36.2 hours of enjoying the early beta model of Name of Obligation: Fashionable Warfare 2, b00lin opened his Steam profile to discover a ban message. At first, he thought that it might’ve been a results of encountering a few bugs within the beta. However after interesting the choice, Activision held quick: “We have confirmed with our safety staff that your account has been completely banned for utilizing unauthorised software program and manipulation of recreation knowledge. As you have been the account holder on the time of the infraction, your ban is not going to be overturned.”
This brief message from Activision Assist was the beginning of a protracted and arduous strategy of utilizing the authorized system to get his account unbanned and obtain a refund for his preliminary buy of Fashionable Warfare 2—all of this is able to take two years.
Earlier than taking the matter to courtroom, b00lin tried going by means of Activision one final time. He used Activision’s ticket system, tried to telephone Activision assist, and even tried contacting somebody who works at Activision by means of Linkedin, however nothing appeared to work.
“When interesting these bans, I’d typically ask if there was any proof of the ‘unauthorised software program’ used,” b00lin says. “The reply I all the time acquired was that they’re unable to [provide examples] on account of it being a safety danger and will expose how the anti-cheat works.”
To this point, I nonetheless do not know what induced the false ban.
b00lin
Defending anticheat software program is a should, particularly in the case of aggressive video games the place gamers stand to achieve essentially the most from dishonest. Inside per week of Activision asserting its new kernel-level anticheat, Ricochet, again in 2021, the Anti-Cheat Police Department (a bunch of gamers devoted to rooting out cheaters) introduced that the motive force had already leaked amongst cheat builders. When one thing like this occurs, Name of Obligation video games and Warzone are often swamped with cheaters for weeks afterward till Activision could make the mandatory adjustments to root them out.
Whereas maintaining safety secrets and techniques and details about Ricochet in-house is clearly essential, b00lin does level out that he wasn’t precisely asking for top-secret info. “Understanding the data such because the identify of the software program, IP deal with that was used, and the way the software program manipulated recreation knowledge would all be identified to a cheat developer,” b00lin says. “Not even this innocent info [was] offered. How can I show that I did not cheat when no info has been offered? Was it Logitech G Hub? iCUE? OBS? To this point, I nonetheless do not know what induced the false ban.”
The final cease earlier than taking the matter to courtroom was an try and settle the matter by signing an NDA and utilizing an Various Dispute Decision (ADR), which might contain an unbiased third celebration serving to each events concerned come to a “mutually acceptable final result.” However that was shot down by Activision.
Courtroom’s in session
First, b00lin filed a Cash Declare On-line (a service that permits folks to make small claims on-line) for the price of the sport and the charge to file the declare. As a result of Activision not responding to this, b00lin routinely received, and Activision paid up. However, the developer nonetheless stood agency towards lifting the ban.
“Activision paid me out however nonetheless refused to take away the suspension positioned on my account,” b00lin says. “Their reasoning was that the courts didn’t get them organized to take action—due to this fact, they wouldn’t. I’m positive they need that they had achieved so as a result of it ended up costing them in the long term.”
So the following step noticed b00lin submitting a non-money declare, and after Activision handed the case off to a regulation agency, b00lin tried settling the case with them. In alternate for paying courtroom charges and getting unbanned, the settlement acknowledged he wouldn’t take this matter any additional and would signal an NDA concerning the phrases of the settlement. Sadly, this was additionally shut down.
By the point b00lin truly stood in entrance of a choose in courtroom, he had amassed a substantial amount of info and examples to assist his case. This included presenting his squeaky clear report in different video games like CS2, by which he has over 1,000 hours, stating that he did not need cash, simply the ban lifted, and that after this case was closed, he “needed nothing to do with Activision.” He had come ready. So b00lin was shocked when the defendant introduced their case, and it turned clear that they did not have any concrete proof to show that he truly cheated.
“This meant that if I didn’t commit any abuse of course of inside the courts, my case could be heard, and Activision would haven’t any proof to indicate what they’re claiming,” b00lin explains. “It could seem that Activision’s anti-cheat/safety staff is so strict that the folks they employed to defend them weren’t allowed to see any ‘proof’ of the ‘unauthorized software program or manipulation of recreation knowledge’.”
Ultimately, the choose discovered that b00lin ought to have his suspension eliminated on Fashionable Warfare 2, Fashionable Warfare 3, and Warzone, and Activision should pay the Claimant’s £711 mounted prices, due to all of the examples that he put ahead and a scarcity of proof introduced by the Defendant. However that is not all: “The Choose additionally discovered Activision to be the one in violation of the contract,” b00lin says. “And with that, two years of telephone calls, emails, and studying pages of authorized jargon had lastly come to an finish.
“For over two years (763 days as of writing), I used to be wrongly accused of dishonest and falsely banned from Name of Obligation: Fashionable Warfare 2022. As of 08/01/2025, this has been formally lifted on all platforms.”
However why?
After I first examine b00lin’s two-year-long struggle, all I might take into consideration was how anybody had the time and energy to maintain up with all of that. B00lin had purchased each Name of Obligation PC recreation since 2003, and he is devoted a big period of time and power to construct up an in-game character, and going to courtroom wasn’t about getting the most effective of Activision.
“Having a Steam profile’s status ruined after seven years of possession is what fuelled me to maintain going and never quit,” b00lin says. “A ban for one thing I didn’t do on a profile I cherish and have spent 1000’s of hours on didn’t sit proper.”
The destructive results of the ban additionally seeped into different video games that b00lin performed: ” If I ever did properly in a recreation, somebody would take a look at my profile to see what number of hours I’ve and immediately see the purple marker that exhibits ‘I’m a cheater.'” b00lin even shares screenshots of a CS2 match in his weblog the place one participant accuses him of dishonest to win of their match: “You would not have a VAC ban for those who did not cheat.”
I’ve seen so many tales of harmless gamers being banned.
b00lin
B00lin can be a part of the COD False Ban Neighborhood Discord, the place gamers who’ve encountered false bans or shadow bans come collectively to attempt to assist themselves and each other. “I’ve seen so many tales of harmless gamers being banned and referred to this neighborhood in courtroom,” b00lin says.
Shadow bans are most likely probably the most prevalent issues in Name of Obligation. It depends on participant studies or on Ricochet’s inner system to establish cheaters, however even for those who’ve achieved nothing unsuitable, you possibly can nonetheless get flagged for it if sufficient gamers report you. The implications of being shadow-banned can embody not having the ability to play in any respect, worse matchmaking, or getting positioned into poor-quality lobbies with different cheaters. Regardless of the punishment could also be, gamers should cope with it till the safety staff investigates the state of affairs, which may take anyplace from a couple of days to a few weeks.
Every time Activision launched an replace to its efforts towards cheaters, like when it revealed that 136,000 Name of Obligation: Black Ops 6 accounts had been banned, there’s all the time a large chunk of feedback that time out how detrimental shadow bans nonetheless are for the neighborhood.
“I really feel the COD False Ban Neighborhood on Discord helped as a result of it was a neighborhood of individuals making an attempt to perform the identical purpose,” b00lin tells me. “Not solely did it give me a bunch of anecdotes I might use to indicate a sample of this behaviour, a couple of folks in there had taken authorized motion, too. Chatting with a type of folks in there gave me a good suggestion of what to anticipate and what I ought to intention to do.”
That is additionally the identical Discord that Mike Swanson is part of. A number of years again, Swanson revealed a weblog submit detailing how he had been banned with out dishonest regardless of solely enjoying singleplayer in Fashionable Warfare 2. ” chunk of the pages I submitted to the courts was this weblog (with Mike’s consent),” b00lin says. “It was extraordinarily useful to have the ability to seek advice from somebody with credentials to get my level throughout.”
Among the materials that b00lin ended up utilizing in courts included a analysis paper from the College of Birmingham, which was carried out to exhibit how cheaters will generally bypass Microsoft Home windows kernel protections, Activision’s personal phrases of service, and one in every of our articles on how harmless Name of Obligation gamers obtained permabanned.
All in all, the two-year-long battle to get an account unbanned could seem to be a shed load of labor—that is placing it flippantly—nevertheless it’s not one thing that b00lin regrets: “After combating this false ban for over two years, I’m glad to say it’s lastly over. For my part, it was definitely worth the effort simply to see the account alert.”
PC Gamer reached out to Activision for a remark about this courtroom battle however is but to listen to something again.
