As a leading gaming platform, Activision Blizzard has over 400 million monthly active users across its popular franchises like Call of Duty, Overwatch, and World of Warcraft. With so many dedicated gamers invested in their accounts over time, there comes a point when some may wish to delete their accounts entirely.
Deleting an Activision or Call of Duty account is a serious matter – it is an irreversible process that permanently erases your profile and gaming data. In this comprehensive guide, I‘ll walk you through everything involved in canceling your Activision account, from risks to consider to step-by-step instructions.
Why You Might Want to Delete Your Activision Account
Here are some of the most common reasons gamers look to fully delete their Activision accounts:
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Harassment: Enduring harassment, bullying, or threats from other players. Deleting the account provides a clean break from the negative experiences.
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Privacy Concerns: Worry over how Activision/Blizzard uses or secures your personal data. Account deletion erases the info from their systems.
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Leaving Gaming Behind: Deciding to move on from gaming as a hobby. Deleting the account provides closure and a fresh start.
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Fraud: Account hacked or compromised by fraudsters. Easier to delete it than try to recover or secure it.
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Cheating: Got banned for cheating/hacking and want a completely fresh account.
Understanding the motivations behind account deletion can help you decide if it‘s the right choice.
Risks and Downsides of Deleting Your Account
Before going further, it‘s important to consider the permanent impacts of deleting your Activision account:
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Lose Access to Purchased Games: You‘ll no longer have access to any games or DLC you bought tied to the account.
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Erase Gaming Progression: All advancement, stats, ranks, skins, and progress will be wiped out.
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Forfeit Earned Rewards: Things like COD Points, loot box prizes, achievement badges, and unlocked items will be gone.
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Sever Social Connections: Your friends lists and game relationships can‘t be recovered.
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No Reversing the Process: Once your account is deleted, there is no way to recover or undo it.
Deleting your account erases your entire gaming profile and history with Activision permanently. Be certain you are ready to give all of that up before moving forward.
Compare Account Deletion vs. Deactivation
Another option to consider is temporarily deactivating rather than fully deleting your Activision account. Here‘s an overview of how they differ:
| Account Deletion | Account Deactivation | |
|---|---|---|
| Process | Permanent erasure of account and data | Temporarily disabling account access |
| Reversibility | Impossible to undo or recover account | Can reactivate account anytime |
| Impact on Data | Complete removal of personal info from Activision systems | Data remains stored with Activision |
| Length | Account erased forever | Choose length of deactivation (30/60/90 days) |
| Effect on Owned Games | Lose access to all owned games/DLC | Can still play owned games offline |
Deactivating your account provides a temporary break while retaining the option to eventually come back. Deletion is permanent – once your data is erased, there‘s no way to restore anything.
What Happens to Your Data After Account Deletion?
When you successfully delete an Activision account, your personal information is removed from Activision‘s databases and systems. However, they may retain some data under specific circumstances:
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Data needed to comply with legal obligations like tax audits or court orders.
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Aggregated and anonymized data used for internal analysis and statistics.
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Partial data held in backups or archives. While Activision aims to delete it, remnants may exist.
So in most cases, your personal information will be fully deleted. But fragments of data may persist in some form for legal compliance or technical limitations.
What to Do Before Deleting Your Activision Account
If you decide to go through with permanent account deletion, it‘s smart to take a few preparatory steps first:
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Download your Activision data: Request an archive of your gameplay data, stats, and other account info for your own records.
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Save receipts/proof of purchases: Have evidence of games, DLC, COD Points, etc. bought with the account in case you need it later.
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Inform account connections: Let any friends, guild members, etc. know you‘ll be deleting your account.
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Review account details: Look through your info, game progression, purchases, and anything else you want to remember.
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Take screenshots: Capture some screenshots of meaningful parts of your account like avatar, accomplishments, legacy stats, etc.
Tying up these loose ends can provide closure and let you salvage anything important before eliminating your account entirely.
Step-by-Step Guide to Deleting Your Activision Account
Ready to take the irreversible step of deleting your Activision or Call of Duty account? Follow these instructions:
Access Activision‘s Website and Login
First, go to Activision‘s website and click "Login" in the top menu. Enter your account credentials and log in.
Navigate to Your Account Settings
After logging in, click your profile icon in the top menu and select "Account Settings" from the dropdown.
Access the Privacy & Data Protection Portal
Scroll down and click the "Privacy & Data Protection" link under the "Need to Delete or Deactivate Your Account?" section.
Submit a Right to Erasure Request
On the Privacy portal, click "Submit a New Request" and select "Delete My Personal Information (Right to Erasure)" as the request type.
Confirm Your Identity By Logging In
The next page will prompt you to log into your Activision account again to confirm it‘s really you submitting the request.
Verify and Submit the Request
Carefully review all the information, complete the CAPTCHA, and submit the erasure request.
Await Activision‘s Review and Approval
It can take up to 30 days for Activision to process account deletion requests. Don‘t try to access your account further during review.
Your Account Will Be Permanently Deleted if Approved
Once approved, Activision will erase your personal data and delete your account within 30 days. The process can‘t be reversed or undone at that point.
If at any time before approval you change your mind, you must contact Activision support immediately to cancel the deletion request. Otherwise, your account will be removed from their systems.
Closing Thoughts
I hope this guide gave you a detailed look at everything involved in canceling your Activision or Call of Duty account permanently. Deleting your gaming profile is an irreversible decision with significant impacts. Be 100% committed before starting the process, and make sure to take any preparatory steps recommended beforehand.
While account deletion is permanent, deactivating your profile temporarily is an option if you need a break but think you may return someday. And if your motivations are related to harassment or other fixable issues, consider exploring those alternatives before resorting to deletion.
Please let me know if you have any other questions about deleting your Activision account that I can help answer! I aimed to provide comprehensive information based on my expertise in social media and gaming. However, you should always directly consult Activision‘s official terms of service and policies for the latest details on account deletion.
