Call of Duty will return SR to players who've lost it against banned cheaters in Black Ops 6 Ranked Play

Modified Apr 23, 2025 14:11 GMT

The Retroactive SR Adjustment system is live in Black Ops 6 Ranked Play (Image via Activision)

The Retroactive SR Adjustment system, which refunds SR lost to cheaters during Black Ops 6 Ranked Play Season 3, is now live. Although it was initially mentioned in the patch notes, the system wasn’t activated right away. However, on April 22, 2025, Call of Duty announced via its official X handle that the system is now active.

Currently, this feature is only available for Black Ops 6 Ranked Play. It has not yet been rolled out for Warzone, but the developers have confirmed that a similar system for Warzone Ranked Play will be introduced later in Season 3.

This article will explain how the Retroactive SR Adjustment system works in Black Ops 6 Ranked Play, including how SR will be refunded or deducted for affected players.

The Retroactive SR Adjustment system will help Black Ops 6 Ranked Play players recover SR lost to cheaters

The Retroactive SR Adjustment system was introduced in response to the overwhelming number of cheaters in Ranked Play lobbies during Black Ops 6 Season 2, which made the competitive experience nearly unplayable.

However, with the launch of Season 3, several updates were made to the Ricochet anti-cheat system, alongside the addition of new features such as a cross-play option, a forfeit option, and more.

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One of the key features introduced is the Retroactive SR Adjustment system, now live in Black Ops 6 Ranked Play. This system allows players to recover SR lost in matches where a cheater was detected and subsequently banned.

If the cheater’s account hasn’t been banned yet, the SR won’t be refunded immediately. However, once the account is banned for cheating, the lost SR will be returned. This means it may take some time for affected players to see their SR restored.

To break it down, the developers explained that the system works as follows:

Players who lost SR in matches against banned cheaters in Season 03 will see their SR refunded the next time they log in to Ranked Play.
Players who were detected as benefitting from extended play with cheaters may see SR deductions the next time they log in to Ranked Play as well.

This system works both ways: if you played against a cheater (who later gets banned) and lost SR, you'll be refunded. Conversely, if you gained SR by teaming up with cheaters, you may face SR deductions. That said, players who were unknowingly matched with cheaters won’t be penalized. The deductions only apply if a clear pattern shows you consistently teamed up with banned accounts.

The developers have also assured that this new system will continue to receive regular updates throughout the season. This ensures that legitimate players won’t be unfairly affected, meaning their SR won’t be impacted even if they encounter cheaters in lobbies.

While facing cheaters may still cost players their time, it’s a better outcome than losing both time and SR.

Also read: Are the C9 10mm Auto 30-Round Mags in Warzone and BO6 worth using?

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About the author

Animesh has been a Call of Duty writer at Sportskeeda for close to two years. A fervent enthusiast of the iconic Mario Bros. franchise and several first-person shooter games, his love for gaming pushed him to merge his passion and profession, and eventually land a writing job in the genre. When creating content, he prioritizes quality and accuracy over speed, verifying multiple official sources. This has helped his meticulous first-person shooter guides garner over two million reads.

Although Animesh holds a Master’s degree in Commerce, he would willingly go back to school; just as long as the school is Hogwarts, so he can jump into the world of spell-casting and fly on broomsticks. He admires gamers Shroud and Beaulo, and would recommend story-driven games like Red Dead Redemption, Skyrim, and Far Cry 3 for their captivating narratives and deep player engagement.

Animesh also enjoys multiplayer games such as Valorant, Apex Legends, and Warzone. When he keeps his controller aside, he plays football and badminton, reads books, and cooks.

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Edited by Ripunjay Gaba