Call of Duty shadowbans: what Limited Matchmaking means for your account

A “shadowban” in Call of Duty is what Activision calls Limited Matchmaking, or LMM. The account can still play online, but only against other accounts in the same state, while Activision looks at its activity. The review ends one of two ways: the account goes back to normal matchmaking, or it is suspended, for a time or for good.

Everything below comes from Activision’s own pages, listed under the guide. We sell cheat software, so read this as a summary of Activision’s rules, not advice on how to avoid them. There is no setting that does.

What Limited Matchmaking is

Activision described it in its Season 03 RICOCHET update in March 2025, naming it “Limited Matchmaking (LMM) lobbies”, which players call shadowban lobbies. An account that has raised an alarm keeps playing online, in a separate pool from standard matchmaking, while the team collects the evidence it needs to decide what to do.

Activision is clear that being placed there does not mean an account is a confirmed cheater. It means something needs examining. At the time, it said accounts in Limited Matchmaking made up less than 0.15% of players in Black Ops 6 and Warzone.

How it affects a party

If one account in a party is in Limited Matchmaking, the whole party plays in those lobbies. Activision says this is deliberate, so the matchmaking change cannot be sidestepped by grouping with clean accounts during an investigation. An account that is not under review goes back to standard matchmaking as soon as it leaves that party.

How to check your account

Activision’s ban appeal page shows an account’s enforcement status. Sign in with the Activision account linked to the game. An account can be in limited matchmaking, restricted from Ranked Play, or both, and the page says to check back to see whether that status clears or becomes a suspension.

Activision does not publish how long a review takes. Leaving Limited Matchmaking does not mean an account has been cleared either: its appeal page says leaving either state is not the same as being cleared of possible violations.

How it ends

Under the Call of Duty Security and Enforcement Policy, an account under review is either returned to normal matchmaking or receives a temporary or permanent suspension. Penalties belong to the account, and the policy applies them no matter who was playing at the time.

What can be appealed

From Activision’s appeal page:

• Limited Matchmaking and temporary bans cannot be appealed.
• Permanent bans can be appealed, but are only overturned if Activision decides the infraction happened because the account was hacked.
• Hardware bans apply to the device rather than the account. They cannot be appealed, and their status is checked in the game.

Shadowban or Failed Attestation?

They are different. Since Season 04 in June 2026, a Black Ops 7 or Warzone PC without TPM 2.0 and Secure Boot sees a Failed Attestation Status message and is matched in a separate pool with a short list of playlists. That is a hardware requirement, not an investigation, and turning both settings on fixes it: TPM 2.0 and Secure Boot for Call of Duty shows how.

What it means for your account

• Any account that uses third-party software can be banned. A review in Limited Matchmaking is one route to a ban. A build’s status says whether it works with the current game version; it says nothing about detection.
• A party shares the risk. One account under review moves everyone it plays with into the same lobbies.
• Use only an account you are prepared to lose. The FAQ says the same, and what RICOCHET is explains the system behind all of this.