Treyarch adding harsher punishments for League Play quitters in Black Ops Cold War

Treyarch’s Lead Game Designer has confirmed that Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War’s League Play mode will be getting new abandon penalties, as players complain about teammates leaving matches early. 

Black Ops Cold War’s League Play finally dropped on February 8, nearly 3 months after the game released. Fans of the competitive mode saw it as a welcome addition, but also criticized it for coming so long after the game’s launch and not matching the high standards Treyarch have set with competitive modes in the past.

Regardless, League Play is here to stay for the rest of BOCW’s life cycle, and Treyarch have now confirmed that harsher abandon penalties will be coming for players who leave games early.

In competitive modes, game developers often implement penalties for players leaving games early, to prevent them from abandoning and putting their remaining teammates at a major disadvantage. In Rainbow Six Siege, for example, players receive a 30 minute matchmaking ban and lose MMR. Repeated offences result in longer bans.

At the moment, players leaving League Play matches receive a hit to their ladder points, essentially meaning they are handed the loss. However, some have argued these are insufficient punishments, and do not do enough to discourage abandonment.

• Read More: New Warzone map: Ural Mountains rumors

One frustrated player reached out to Treyarch’s lead game designer Matt Scronce, asking whether further penalties are coming for players who leave League Play matches early: “Are there any plans to add a time penalty or other serious penalty for leaving League Play games early aside from simply losing ladder points?” he asked. “Feels like every master game has someone leave early, especially Search [and Destroy].”

Matt Scronce simply responded “Yes”, going on to say that he plays League Play daily and experiences the same issues with teammates leaving.

Scronce did not specify the exact nature of the penalties coming, but time penalties – essentially preventing players abandoning matches from instantly finding a new game – seem a likely port of call.

We will of course update you when the changes are made, likely in a future patch.