The return of Ranked Play in Call of Duty: Warzone under the Season 3 Reloaded update was received positively from the community. Nevertheless, ongoing technical problems have forced developers to turn the competitive mode off temporarily to provide an even and stable gaming experience.
Since Season 3 Reloaded’s release, a majority of players have been complaining about an increase in game-breaking bugs, constant crashing, and server outages. These problems have also had a damaging effect on the Ranked Play system, where match performance and placing are a primary factor in progression. Disconnections in the middle of a match or freezes at the Winner’s Circle have led to unfair Skill Rating (SR) loss, causing resentment among the community.
As a response to these issues, Raven Software on May 8 stated that Warzone’s Ranked Play would be temporarily removed from service. The move is meant to resolve the server instability and fix the SR distribution bugs that have haunted the mode. The developers have apologized for the inconvenience and promised players that getting Ranked Play back to its original competitive integrity is a high priority.
The short-term removal of Ranked Play has deprived players of access to the competitive mode, although other battle royale playlists are unaffected. Although the developers have not yet given a timeline for the return of Ranked Play, they have stated that the mode will return once the root issues are addressed. Since Ranked seasons reset upon the launch of a fresh seasonal update, it is speculated that the feature might not be back until Season 4 is released on May 29, providing a new competitive beginning.
To help offset the effects of these technical problems, the developers have suspended timeout penalties within Warzone Ranked Play for now. Before, players who got disconnected from a Ranked Play game were given suspensions and SR penalties. This move seeks to protect players from unfair punishment because of server disconnections.