Call of Duty publisher Activision has made a major change to shadowbans in both Black Ops 6 and Warzone, as players will now be notified via an in-game message if they are being placed into a limited matchmaking pool. Previously, there was no way for Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 or Warzone players to know if their account was being shadowbanned, or if they were part of a party where one member is in a limited matchmaking pool, but Activision says that has now changed with Season 5 Reloaded.

With Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 just two months away, Activision is making significant changes to continue its battle against cheaters and hackers. Last month, the publisher announced some new security features for Black Ops 7, which include the addition of Secure Boot and Trusted Platform Mode 2.0 (TPM 2.0). Both add an extra layer of security to the title, with Secure Boot only allowing trusted software to be loaded during the player’s PC startup, and TPM 2.0 ensuring that there are no malicious hardware modifications on a player’s PC. While these features will be live at the launch of Black Ops 7, they were also implemented in both Warzone and Black Ops 6 with Season 5.

Call of Duty Now Tells Players if They Are Shadowbanned

The addition of TPM 2.0 and Secure Boot weren’t the only new security changes that made their way to Call of Duty with Season 5 Reloaded; Activision has also added in-game messages that notify players when they are in a limited matchmaking lobby, also known as being shadowbanned. In a new blog post (via Insider Gaming), Activision provided players with an update on its Ricochet anti-cheat system, while also revealing the new shadowban change. “We will also notify users of an entire party when their experience may be impacted based on the party they have joined,” the studio explained.

For those who might be unaware, being shadowbanned in a multiplayer title such as Call of Duty is extremely different from being banned. As Activision notes in its blog post, being placed into a limited matchmaking pool does not mean that the account is a confirmed cheater. Instead, it means that “an alarm has been raised,” likely via reports from fellow players, and that the publisher’s team must investigate further. If the account is found to be cheating, the player will be completely banned from Call of Duty. If not, they will then be removed from the limited matchmaking pool.

It’s clear that Activision is making a significant effort to enhance its security for Call of Duty: Black Ops 7, but there’s still much that remains to be revealed about the next entry in the series. Thankfully, there’s not long left to go until more details are shared, as the publisher has confirmed that the popular COD Next event will return on September 30. If previous years are anything to go by, fans can expect an in-depth look at Call of Duty: Black Ops 7‘s Multiplayer, Zombies, and what its integration with Call of Duty: Warzone will bring to the free-to-play title.