Call of Duty developers have announced the introduction of a new feature that will allow players to receive notifications when their account is placed in Limited Matchmaking (LMM) mode, or the so-called "shadow ban." This change aims to increase the transparency of the Ricochet anti-cheat system and help gamers better understand the reasons for matchmaking problems.
According to the official Activision blog, the update will be implemented as part of the upcoming inter-seasonal update preceding the release of Black Ops 7. The In-Game Limited Matchmaking Notifications feature is activated when suspicious activity is detected in an account. In this case, the player will receive a direct notification in the game about being transferred to a separate matchmaking pool, where matches are conducted only with other accounts under suspicion. It is important to note that being placed in LMM does not automatically confirm cheating — it is merely a signal for further verification.
We have noted that Limited Matchmaking (LMM) is a key part of our anti-cheat system. It is designed to respond immediately to suspicious activity. When it triggers, accounts are transferred to a separate matchmaking pool.
Special attention is paid to the impact on group matches: if one member of the party falls under the restriction, the entire squad may be affected. In this case, all members of the party will receive a notification. According to the developers, 75% of players in LMM ended up there because of their teammates.