MW2’s Season 3 update breaks Ground War with players stuck in half-empty games

The Season 3 update for MW2 and Warzone 2 has broken Ground War with players struggling to find full lobbies, among other issues with the mode.

Ground War is one of Modern Warfare 2‘s battle modes that supports large-scale fights with two teams of 32 going head to head. It offers a different experience from the traditional 6v6 multiplayer and has become popular as a result.

Ground War first appeared in Modern Warfare as a reimagined version of what used to be Call of Duty’s 9v9 multiplayer mode. Its scaled-up mayhem has its own appeal but right now people aren’t getting the opportunity to play it as intended.

MW2 Ground War games broken in more ways than one

Since Season 3 went live some players have noticed that something isn’t quite right with Ground War. Lobbies are struggling to maintain players and often finish with half-empty games.

Several Reddit posts have mentioned the issues with Ground War’s matchmaking with one user going as far as to label it “completely broken,” with multiple bugs arriving with the Season 3 update.

It isn’t just the empty lobbies that are frustrating some players either. Since the update Ground War only rotates through two maps, Rohan Oil Fields and Zaya Observatory. Sattiq Cave Complex, one of the new battle maps that was supposed to arrive in Season 3, is currently not showing up.

On top of those two issues Ground War is also being affected by one more bug. Friendly player indicators only show up when teammates look directly at each other. This can result in players mistaking friendlies for enemies and even potentially assuming an enemy is friendly.

Neither Activision nor Infinity Ward has yet to address the issues with Ground War. It is currently unknown if these bugs will be fixed or when fans of the game mode will be able to play it again in its intended state.