Recent events show a widespread wave of bans for Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 and Warzone players. These bans by Activision target players involved in AFK farming in the games’ Plunder mode. This move highlights Activision’s strict stance against actions it considers cheating. Some gamers support this stance, valuing competitive fairness, while others criticize the punishments as excessive.
Players have long sought efficient ways to earn experience points (XP) without the intense grinding of competitive modes. The Plunder mode, being more relaxed, became a popular choice for gaining XP since matches last up to 30 minutes and reward AFK players. This created a loophole where a player could start a match and then attend to other things, gaining XP without actively playing. Activision now officially labels this behavior as “boosting,” leading to permanent account suspensions.
Influential Call of Duty content creators like TheGhostOfHope first reported on these bans. Other gamers and streamers confirmed the news by sharing images of their permanent ban notifications. These warnings explicitly state “boosting” as the reason for the bans, linking it directly to AFK play in Plunder. Activision has been taking a strong stance against cheating and botting—banning over 228,000 accounts since the launch of Black Ops 6 in October 2024. This includes banning accounts for AFK farming in Plunder under the “boosting” label, which has sparked controversy.
Players with high-level accounts and many progression and mastery camos wonder if their AFK play in Plunder might lead to a lifetime ban. They suggest there should be a distinction between different types of “boosting” and how they are punished. The harshness of some punishments, such as chat policy violations leading to bans of up to 67 years, signals a zero-tolerance policy by the publisher. While there are members focused on anti-cheating, the community leans towards finding ways to control it. Some veteran players believe that XP farming passively in an easy mode like Plunder should not result in permanent bans, viewing such punishments from Activision as extreme. Players are currently advised against AFKing in Plunder to avoid similar issues.