Last updated: 29 July 2026
By creating an account you agree to these rules. Breaking them can cost you a match, a strike, or your account.
1. Accounts and identity
- One account per person.
- Your PSN ID, X handle and Discord username can each be linked to one account only.
- Do not share, sell, buy or transfer accounts.
- Do not create a new account to get around a ban or restriction. We keep a secure, non-reversible record of banned contact details to detect this.
- Usernames and team names must not contain slurs, hate speech, sexual content, or impersonate staff or Cod Ladders itself. Blocked names are rejected automatically and admins can force a change.
2. Eligibility
- You must be at least 13 years old.
- Cod Ladders is open to the Australia and New Zealand region at launch. Other regions are locked and can join the waitlist.
- You need the PlayStation version of the supported game and a PlayStation Network account.
- Cod Ladders is free to play. There are no entry fees, there are no cash prizes, and ladder points are a ranking score only with no monetary value.
- The optional Cod Ladders Premium subscription unlocks platform features. It is not an entry fee, it buys no competitive advantage, and it has no bearing on match results or dispute decisions.
3. Fair play
- No cheating. This includes aimbots, wallhacks, modified game files, hardware or scripts that automate input, and exploiting bugs or map glitches for advantage.
- No lag switching, connection manipulation, or attacking another player's connection.
- No smurfing. Do not use alternate accounts to play below your real skill level.
- No win trading, match fixing, or deliberately losing.
- No point farming. Repeat matches against the same opponent on the same ladder are limited. There is a daily cap on how many times you can face the same team, the points awarded drop with each rematch, and a cooldown applies before you can face them again. The exact limits are set per ladder and shown to you when they apply. Trying to work around them is treated as cheating.
- If you suspect someone is cheating, use the report system and include evidence. Do not retaliate.
4. Teams
- On team ladders, captains can invite players and accept join requests.
- On solo (1v1) ladders you play as yourself. There are no teammates and no substitutes.
- Roster limits and the cooldown for leaving a team are set per ladder.
- Team names follow the same content rules as usernames.
5. Matches
- Posting or accepting a match is binding. Once a match is accepted, failing to play it for any reason counts as a loss.
- The opposing team is hidden until you accept. This is deliberate and stops opponent dodging. Do not try to identify opponents before accepting.
- Maps are drawn at random from the mode's map pool. Hosting alternates from the top seed, so the higher ranked team hosts the odd-numbered maps. The top seed is the team higher on the ladder, ranked by points, then win percentage, then wins; if the two teams are completely level, including a team's first ever match, the platform picks the map-1 host itself and neither side can predict or influence that choice.
- On Search & Destroy only, the decider is hosted by whoever won the most rounds so far. In a series that goes to the last map, the team ahead on rounds hosts it; if rounds are tied, the team that hosted map 1 does. Agree who that is in match chat before you load in. Other modes have no rounds, so on those ladders the alternating pattern above decides the last map too - your ladder's Rules tab states whichever applies to you.
- The host must use the exact lobby and game settings in the ruleset for that ladder. If you are invited to a lobby with the wrong settings, do not play it. Contact an admin instead.
- Check in and no show timers apply. Failing to show up forfeits the match.
6. Reporting results
- Both teams report the series score after the match.
- If both reports match, the result is final automatically.
- If only one team reports, the result finalises automatically after the timeout unless the other team disputes it.
- Reporting a false score on purpose is a serious breach and will cost you strikes or your account.
7. Disputes
- If the reported scores clash, the match is disputed and a 15 minute window opens for the two teams to sort it out in match chat. Agreeing and resubmitting a corrected, matching score closes the dispute and finalises the match. During that window it is yours to settle, and the match page counts it down. An admin can still step in at any point - if one takes the dispute, their name appears on the match page.
- If it is still unresolved when the window closes, the dispute goes to the admins. Once one picks it up, their name appears on the match page.
- Proof is video only. Submit a link to an uncut recording of at least 30 seconds showing the relevant gameplay and the final scoreboard. Screenshots are not accepted because they are too easy to fake.
- If neither side provides usable evidence, the match is voided.
- Admin decisions on match results are final.
8. Penalties
- Being involved in a dispute can lead to strikes and restrictions, but only when an admin decides it is warranted. Strikes are not automatic for losing a dispute; they are for dishonest play such as faking scores or lying. We keep this strict because the platform is small and cannot manually handle a high volume of disputes, so play fair and honest and you have nothing to worry about.
- When strikes are given they escalate. Reaching the strike threshold triggers a ban, and the second ban is longer than the first. Further bans stay at the longest tier. If a strike or restriction is applied to your account you are notified at the time.
- A team restriction applies to the team across the whole platform, not just the ladder the match was on. Player restrictions are applied individually by the admin resolving the dispute, and can be limited to one ladder or applied account wide. A teammate is only restricted if the admin restricts them by name.
- Serious or repeated cheating results in a permanent ban.
9. Conduct
- No harassment, hate speech, threats, doxxing, or sexual content anywhere on the platform, including match chat, names, team names and notes.
- Match chat is visible to admins so disputes can be resolved fairly.
- Treat opponents and admins with basic respect. Trash talk is part of the game, abuse is not.
10. Support and appeals
- Use a support ticket for help. You can attach a Match ID so admins can find the exact match.
- Admin decisions on match results are final. Bans and restrictions can be appealed through support.
11. Changes
We may update these rules as the platform grows. Material changes will be announced in the app. Continuing to use Cod Ladders after a change means you accept the updated rules.