Fix: Black Ops Cold War Multiplayer Not Working

2020’s Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War is a first-person shooter video game that was a much-anticipated COD title due to the major success of the Call of Duty: Modern Warfare back in 2019. Although developers were optimistic enough for Black Ops Cold War to be successful, things didn’t go well as planned due to so many bugs and a less unique gaming experience. However, Call of Duty games never disappoints us as an action FPS. Meanwhile, some players facing COD Black Ops Cold War Multiplayer Not Working issues.

If we take a deep dive into the Call of Duty games, many players are struggling to get into the servers for matchmaking or playing online. There might be an error message always found that says “Cannot Connect to Online Services” or “Connecting to Call of Duty Online Services” screen quite often. Whenever the screen gets stuck on these messages and players become unable to get past this notice, it indicates that you’re facing an online connectivity issue whatsoever.

Well, if you’re also one of the victims to encounter the multiplayer not working issue at your end then don’t worry. There can be multiple factors behind such an issue which include an outdated game version, corrupted or missing game files, not downloading full resources, not running the game as admin, Windows Firewall blocking, issues with online services, conflicts with networking drivers, account linking issues, and more.

Go to the installed Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War game directory.
Right-click on the application file on your PC.
Click on Properties > Click on the Compatibility tab.

Click on the Run this program as an administrator box to enable it.
Once done, click on Apply and then OK to save changes.
Finally, double-click on the game app file to launch it.

3. Check the Activision Online Services

You can The chances are high that somehow the Activision online services are down or have operational faults in some regions. In that case, you’ll get server connectivity issues. So, make sure to follow the steps below to check for server operations.

Visit the Activision Online Services page to check it.
Select the drop-down menu > Click on Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War from the list.
If you can see that All Platforms ONLINE then it means there is no issue with the game servers at that moment.
- You can also click on the Refresh link to manually refresh the page.

But if you’re seeing that there is an issue with the Activision online services then make sure to refresh the page and wait for a couple of hours before trying again.

4. Check the Internet Connection

You should also try checking out the internet connection at your end to ensure there is no issue with a poor or unstable network. If the internet connection isn’t working well then ensure to switch the wired network to wireless or vice versa. Otherwise, you can try performing the power cycle method on a Wi-Fi router to refresh the connectivity.

5. Update Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War

We should also recommend you check the game update manually via the Steam client to avoid potential glitches that can come with the outdated game version. An outdated game patch version mostly triggers bugs or stability issues like networking connectivity which can be fixed by following the steps below.

For Battle.net:

Open the Battle.net launcher > Click on the Blizzard logo from the top left corner.
Go to Settings > Click on Game Install/Update.
Scroll down to the bottom > Click on Apply latest updates and download future patch data for recently played games to enable it.
Next, click on Done to save changes > Restart the Battle.net launcher to apply changes.
It’ll update the game to the available version automatically.

For Steam:

Open the Steam client > Go to Library.
Click on COD: Black Ops Cold War from the left pane.
Steam will automatically search for the available update.
If there is an update available, click on Update.
Make sure to wait for some time until the update completes.
Once done, ensure to reboot the PC to apply changes.

6. Verify and Repair Game Files

Sometimes missing or corrupted game files might trigger several issues that can be frustrating enough with the game launching. You can follow the steps below to do so:

For Steam:

Launch the Steam client > Click on Library.
Right-click on COD: Black Ops Cold War from the list.
Click on Properties > Go to Local Files.
Click on Verify Integrity of Game Files.
Wait for this process to complete.
Once done, reboot the PC to apply changes.

For Battle.net:

Open the Battle.net client on your PC.
Click on the COD: BOCW game > Click on OPTIONS (Gear icon).
Next, click on Scan and Repair > Click on Begin Scan.
Wait for the verification process to complete.
Once done, close the Battle.net launcher, and restart your PC.

7. Allow the Game through Windows Firewall

You can try whitelisting the COD: BOCW program in the Windows Firewall protection by following the steps below to fix multiplayer connectivity issues.

Open the Start menu > Search for Control Panel and open it.
Go to Systems and Security > Open Windows Firewall.
Select Allow an app or feature through Windows Firewall.
Now, click on Change settings > Select Allow another app.
Select Browse > Click to select Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War.
Click on Add and make sure to save changes.

8. Update Networking Drivers

An outdated networking driver on the computer can also cause several issues with the online server connectivity. It’s better to check for the networking driver update on the PC and install the same by following the steps below.

Right-click on the Start Menu to open Quick Link Menu.
Click on Device Manager from the list.
Now, double-click on the Network Adapters.
Right-click on the networking device > Select Update driver.
Choose Search automatically for drivers.
If there is an update available, it’ll automatically download and install the latest version.
Once done, make sure to reboot your computer to change the effects.

9. Clear the DNS Cache

It’s also possible that your Windows system has gathered plenty of DNS cache data related to the internet configuration. You can follow the steps below to easily connect with the game servers after removing the DNS resolver cache data from the system.

Press the Windows key on the keyboard to open the Start Menu.
Type Command Prompt and search for it.
Now, right-click on Command Prompt > Select Run as administrator.
Click on Yes to run with the admin access > Once the command prompt window opens, type the following command and hit Enter:

ipconfig /flushdns

A successful message will appear that says, “Successfully flushed the DNS Resolver Cache.”
Finally, close the command prompt window, and restart the PC to apply changes.

10. Ensure Activision and Blizzard Accounts are Linked

A couple of reports are claiming that your COD: BOCW game may crash or freeze or even fails to connect to the servers quite often if you haven’t properly linked your Blizzard account with the Activision account properly. It’s recommended to link both accounts to avoid errors whatsoever. To do so:

Visit the Activision website and log into the valid account > Click on PROFILE at the top-right corner.
From the ACCOUNT LINKING section, you’ll find out your profile.
Just make sure to link it with your Blizzard Battle.net account.
Follow the on-screen instructions to proceed and then try launching the game again to check for the issue.

11. Try Downloading All Resources in COD: BOCW

Make sure to try downloading all resources in Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War while launching it to allow the game to run properly. Sometimes due to low or poor internet connection, additional resources can’t be downloaded completely which might affect the multiplayer connectivity errors in some scenarios.

12. Clear Battle.net Cache Data

You may encounter the COD Black Ops Cold War multiplayer not working issue on the PC if there is any corrupted game file available or the Battle.net cache data has some issue. Make sure to follow the steps below to clear the Battle.net cache data on your PC to fix this error.

Close the Battle.net client.
Then press the Ctrl+Shift+Esc keys to open Task Manager.
Now, close the task of the Battle.net launcher from Task Manager.
Press the Win+R keys to open the Run dialog box.
Enter %ProgramData% in the field and hit Enter.
Next, locate the Battle.net folder > Delete the folder.
Once done, relaunch the Battle.net launcher to check for the issue.

13. Try to Restore Licenses for PlayStation

Sometimes your purchased license might get out of sync on the PlayStation platform which is quite common. So, you should try restoring licenses for PlayStation from the Account Management Settings. Make sure to use a valid Call of Duty account and a PlayStation account so that the restore license process can go through successfully.

14. Uninstall and Reinstall COD: Black Ops Cold War

If none of the methods worked for you then make sure to uninstall and reinstall the COD: Black Ops Cold War game on the PC by following the steps below. It’s better to reinstall the game to clear out any potential glitches or game file issues to avoid launching issues or multiplayer connectivity errors.

Open the Battle.net client and select Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War from the left panel.
Select the Options menu on the left side.
Click on Uninstall Game > If prompted, confirm the uninstallation process.
Once done, close the Battle.net launcher, and reboot the PC.
Then open the Battle.net launcher again > Start installing COD: BOCW.
Click on the Options menu > Select Modify Install.
Select the mode that you want to install and select Confirm.
Finally, select Start Install > Wait for it to complete.
You’re good to go. Enjoy!

That’s it, guys. We assume this guide was helpful to you. For further queries, you can comment below.

Fix: Black Ops Cold War Multiplayer Not Working