Move over, Valorant. Step aside, Apex Legends. Everywhere you look nowadays, only one mutliplayer shooter has carved a permanent name in the annals of relevance for itself. That name is Call of Duty: Warzone, and Activision and Infinity Ward have at last come out with a terrific battle royale. Better late to the party than booed away, we always say. That perhaps explains why Warzone feels like everything Black Ops IV should have been. Even in 2021, it proves that AAA franchises can still safely pivot away from old habits (like annualized cash-grabs) and succeed.
The secret to Warzone’s recipe of popularity involves much more than brand recognition, which it has in spades. No, the main reason Warzone emerged almost a year ago and hasn’t declined yet is its longevity.
While many multiplayer shooters incorporate devoted fanbases and still enjoy popularity – CS:GO and Rainbow Six Siege have remained relevant for years – few can beat out the competition so quickly. Warzone succeeds in besting the other battle royale shooters because of its refreshingly simple experience anyone can learn quickly. The gunplay invites franchise veterans back, and the Gulag comeback system makes for a great mechanic.
However, it isn’t fair to say that Warzone is a flawless game by any means. Aside from controversies surrounding its various exploits – including an infinite stim for invincibility – the game suffers from several bugs. An overpowered DMR is forgivable, but a serious game-breaking error is not. This is precisely why, in recent weeks, players grew frustrated over yet another Warzone bug.
Players report facing a Warzone matchmaking error that prevents joining lobbies on PC
A serious bug seems to have crippled Warzone’s PC multiplayer experience. When attempting to load into a friend’s lobby, some mention the action failing. This Warzone lobby error often presents with a certain code “SAPPHIC“, and results in being kicked to the main menu. While we have no clue why this error is named after lesbianism, it is certainly troubling. Players claim the error is highly persistent, and multiple retries of the lobby yield no change.
This issue is exclusively faced by the PC gaming community, which is at least a helpful start for troubleshooting. Some speculate the recent free-trial weekend for Modern Warfare, a game tied to Warzone, is the source of server overloads.
Others note that the issue occurs mainly when trying to load into Duos or larger squads. Conflicting reports exist about where and when exactly this Warzone lobby error occurs. Some see it appear when loading any multiplayer match, others only when accepting game invites, and some when trying to play Duos. It certainly is a mess.
However, keep in mind there’s no reason to despair. Activision and the developers are most likely addressing this Warzone matchmaking error right now. Therefore, expect a fix, in the shape of a patch or update, sometime soon. And in the meantime, we feel our handy guide will shed light on how you can try to resolve this Warzone error. After all, we’ve listed only the most effective, tried-and-tested fixes possible here.
1) Restart your PC, then run Warzone again
We often forget that our PC’s simply comprise of countless processes, all miraculously working in tandem. Each of these processes is liable ot develop errors or bugs when launching, and may malfunction. If multiple processes fail to run correctly, then you can experience a systemic failure. This can make your games run poorly, sever connections to online servers and in general degrade performance.
This is the reason why so many tech experts start with the foolproof “turn it off and on again” approach. When you restart your system, you essentially kill off malfunctioning processes, and eliminate corrupted data caches. This means the new launch is smoother, more stable and free of glitches. Try running your game again, you’d be surprised the number of errors this can resolve.
2) Optimize your internet connection for online gaming
While we know this unique Warzone issue probably stems from a bug on the developer’s part, also consider the possibility that your internet connection is somehow unable to maintain a proper link. After all, Warzone is a mainly online game, and default settings on your router or blocked traffic can contribute to Warzone server errors. To solve this, restart your router by powering it off for 30 seconds, then back on. This should help clear up bottlenecks on your network.
Furthermore, you can contact your ISP (internet service provider) for advanced portal login credentials. Use these to login to your router’s portal, where you can configure various settings. These include Quality of Service (QoS) and NAT type. The former is useful since it prioritizes your gaming bandwidth over less useful tasks. And lastly, changing your NAT from Strict to Moderate will allow a stable online server connection without compromising your security.
3) Run the game as Admin
The worst part of PC gaming is the extreme complexity, and often conflicting considerations of the tools at your disposal. Take Windows’ security protocol, for instance. It surely does well at detecting and stopping malware, but some would argue it is a bit too keen on blocking processes. Sometimes it can mistake your game for a suspicious process, and blacklist its online processes.
That’s why running the game with Administrator Access can help. Simply right click on the Warzone shortcut, and select ‘Run as Admin‘. This allows the system to bypass security blocks, and whitelist the Battle.net connection. This should allow you to easily connect to the Activision servers and avoid the Warzone error.
4) Repair your game files using Battle.net’s repair tool
Like Steam, Battle.net offers a unique but highly-effective way to verify and correct errors in your game installation. This process is a clever bit of technology, because it simply checks its server file info against your own file contents. If there is any discrepancy, it will detect and replace the missing/broken file.
To do this, you’ll need to open your Battle.net launcher. Head to Warzone’s tab, and click on the options under the icon. Select “scan and repair“, then wait for the process to complete. Within a few moments, your game should be thoroughly rechecked and any errors resolved. This should help fix the Warzone SAPPHIC error.
5) Reinstall Call of Duty: Warzone
We know this fix is everyone’s last resort. When your game is almost 175 GB to download, and you don’t have a 200 Mbps internet speed, reinstalling sounds like a grueling chore. The truth is that the pros outweigh the cons. Reinstalling your game kills off corrupted memory processes and files in the game’s directory. It also eradicates file errors in your storage, meaning that the fresh reinstall will perform more smoothly. These factors will help remove any Warzone errors you may face, and thus should definitely be considered.
For more on Warzone, Pc gaming and tips, stay posted!