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Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4 · All · version Launch (October 23)

Kicked for inactivity while spectating in Multiplayer

ConfirmedPartially patched

Updated

Players who die in round-based modes, mostly Search and Destroy, can be kicked for inactivity while spectating their team for the rest of the round. The October 25 update's patch notes say AFK kicks while spectating in some Multiplayer modes were addressed, and Infinity Ward's Trello card is now Resolved (Fix Released). Players were still reporting inactivity kicks while dead in Search and Destroy on October 26, after the fix.

Lifecycle

Partial · stage 4 of 5

7days open

Since first report

  1. Reported (reached)
  2. Confirmed (reached)—
  3. Acknowledged (reached)
  4. Partial (reached) · now
  5. Patched (not yet)next
Report → ack 0dIn current stage 4d
Workaround none yet
Game
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4
Platform
All
Affected version
Launch (October 23)
Kind
Bug
Confirmation
Confirmed
Patch status
Partially patched
First reported
Last updated
Latest fix or workaround
Fix, : Oct 25: the update's patch notes say AFK kicks while spectating in some Multiplayer modes were addressed. Source
How we label issues

Kind

  • Exploit: Repeatable and clearly advantageous to the player using it; essentially cheating.
  • Bug: Everything else: crashes, launch errors, broken features, visual or audio faults.

Confirmation

  • Confirmed: A developer or official account acknowledged it, an official known-issues board lists it, it appears in official patch notes, or 100+ corroborating posts on X were actually counted.
  • Unconfirmed: None of the above yet. Press articles are reports and never confirm an issue on their own.

Patch status

  • Unpatched: Known and open; no fix has been claimed.
  • Reported as unpatched: Players credibly report it persisting, including after a fix claim that never appeared in patch notes.
  • Partially patched: Official patch notes list a fix, but credible later reports say it still happens, or the notes only cover part of it.
  • Reported as patched: A developer, official account or player says it is fixed, but no official patch notes list it.
  • Patched: Official patch notes (a Steam news post or the publisher's patch notes page) list the fix, and nothing credible says it still happens.

Active means still affecting players: Unpatched, Reported as unpatched or Partially patched. Patched and Reported as patched issues are closed.

Estimated impact runs from 0.1 to 9.9 with one decimal. xploitr sets it from the rubric below. Factors: advantage to other players, reach, play blocked or progress lost, frequency, and whether a reliable workaround exists. Patched issues keep their historical impact.

Signed-in community members can report new issues and suggest status changes, such as Fixed or Still unpatched, with their platform, version and a source. Every report and suggestion is reviewed by an editor before anything on the record changes. A new issue is published only when the report has at least three independent sources (distinct accounts, or distinct sites for web pages, after blocked sources are removed), unless the owner approved that issue by hand. Approved input appears as a dated Update from the xploitr community source on the issue's timeline, credited to the member's username (reports can opt out and stay anonymous); nothing is counted or published automatically.

Impact bands

  • 0.1–2.9 Low: Cosmetic, audio, text and UI glitches with no effect on play.
  • 3.0–4.9 Moderate: Narrow gameplay bugs or small exploits, rare or with a workaround.
  • 5.0–6.9 Elevated: Bugs most players in a mode notice: hit registration, desync, balance-breaking damage.
  • 7.0–8.4 High: Widely abused competitive or economy exploits; crashes many players hit.
  • 8.5–9.9 Severe: Launch blockers, widespread progress or item loss, exploits that break the game for everyone.

Each issue has a dated timeline of updates (report, acknowledgement, announcement, fix, workaround). Update summaries are our own words; quotes and excerpts are the source's words, or our English translation when marked.

Estimated impactEstimated impact 6.0 out of 9.9, ElevatedOur estimate from how many players it reaches and what it costs them.

Updates · 17

Show all 17 updates
  1. Report

    Oct 26, after the fix was announced: a player says they still get kicked for inactivity while spectating after dying in Search and Destroy.

    @phayzer on X ·

    @phayzer on X · · View post

  2. Report

    Oct 26, after the fix was announced: another player was kicked for inactivity while dead in Search and Destroy.

    @chxrlie757 on X ·

    @chxrlie757 on X · · View post

  3. Report

    Oct 26, after the fix was announced: a third player was kicked for inactivity while dead in a Search and Destroy lobby.

    @IHaveCTE69 on X ·

    @IHaveCTE69 on X · · View post

  4. Report

    Oct 28: a player and their teammates are still kicked for inactivity in Search and Destroy after the patch.

    Community report on reddit ·
    “Me and my teammates are still getting kicked for inactivity in search and destroy, even after the patch.”
    Community report on reddit · Open source
  5. Report

    Oct 28: a player is still kicked for inactivity while dead in Search and Destroy.

    Community report on reddit ·
    “they haven’t fixed getting kicked for inactivity when you’re dead in search.”
    Community report on reddit · Open source
Sources · 175 Official12 CommunityInfinity Ward · Publisher patch notesOfficial+ 12 similar community reports and 4 official postsHide
Infinity WardOfficialPublisher patch notes
“We've addressed an issue where players were being AFK kicked while spectating in some Multiplayer modes.”
  • Infinity Ward · TrelloOfficialOpen
    “We're investigating an issue causing some players to be kicked while spectating in Multiplayer.”
  • @CODUpdatesOfficialView post
    “❗Call of Duty: #ModernWarfare4 We're investigating an issue causing some players to be kicked while spectating in Multiplayer. Details:”
  • @CODUpdatesOfficialView post

    Oct 25: Call of Duty Updates says AFK kicks while spectating in some Multiplayer modes have been addressed. (Our summary of this post, not the author’s words.)

  • Infinity Ward (Trello) · TrelloOfficialOpen
    “We're investigating an issue causing some players to be kicked while spectating in Multiplayer.”
  • @phayzerView post

    Oct 26, after the fix was announced: a player says they still get kicked for inactivity while spectating after dying in Search and Destroy. (Our summary of this post, not the author’s words.)

  • @x7versonView post
    “@InfinityWard Please fix getting kicked for inactivity whilst spectating in snd”
  • @FJRestoView post
    “@InfinityWard Was playing search and destroy and I died. I was watching my team continue the fight waiting for the next round and was kicked for inactivity. Please investigate if this is a bug. I’m on PC Steam.”
  • @chxrlie757View post

    Oct 26, after the fix was announced: another player was kicked for inactivity while dead in Search and Destroy. (Our summary of this post, not the author’s words.)

  • @IHaveCTE69View post

    Oct 26, after the fix was announced: a third player was kicked for inactivity while dead in a Search and Destroy lobby. (Our summary of this post, not the author’s words.)

  • @klipziiView post
    “@CallofDuty @CallofDuty @InfinityWard can we please address and fix : - getting kicked for inactivity in S&D when spectating - kicked from the party after every game and having to rejoin friends to queue I would like to play the game seamlessly please guys let’s get this fixed !!”
  • Community report · redditOpen
    “- you currently get kicked for inactivity whilst spectating other players. - XP is currently really low compared to other modes. Really enjoying it aside from this.”
  • Community report · redditOpen
    “I'm kind of newer to the COD franchise so im unsure how long bugs usually last.. I saw other posts about it, so seems to be a wide spread issue.”
  • Community report · redditOpen
    “Played my first match of Search and Destroy. Died.”
  • Community report · redditOpen
    “Lately my friends have been kicked out for an activity during search and destroy when they’ve been playing for a couple rounds.”
  • Community report · redditOpen
    “Me and my teammates are still getting kicked for inactivity in search and destroy, even after the patch.”
  • Community report · redditOpen
    “they haven’t fixed getting kicked for inactivity when you’re dead in search.”
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