Bugs, errors, and other connection issues are nothing new to big multiplayer games, and Call of Duty: Modern Warfare seemingly isn’t immune to the trend.
One of the most common errors popping up is a simple message that alerts players that the game failed to connect to a friend’s online session. This status is labeled as “SAVANNAH.” Like most early issues, there are a few solutions that might work—but there’s no sure-fire way to resolve the problem yet.
The full error code provides a good base for what’s causing the overall error to pop up when players try to connect to a friend’s lobby.
“Unable to join game session, the host cannot be joined or gameplay is paused. Status: SAVANNAH,” the error code reads.
If you get the Savannah code, the first thing you should check is which version of the game you’re playing on. There might have been an update pushed recently that you need to download to play the most recent patch.
If you or your friend don’t have the latest update installed, the game won’t allow you to connect to the online servers since your copy of the game would try to use some of the data differently. You won’t be able to join the normal matchmaking lobby either, but Savannah will only pop up when you’re trying to party up with a friend.
One Modern Warfare fan found a potential PC fix for Code Savannah and posted the solution on Reddit. The player suggests deleting specific items from the game’s files and then repairing them in the Battle.net client.
Though some players have successfully employed this solution to solve the Savannah error, Infinity Ward hasn’t confirmed this as an official fix.
Consoles are a little more tedious. Players will need to manually check if the platforms don’t automatically start downloading.
On Xbox One, players need to go to the updates menu in the Manage Game tab, while the PlayStation 4 will require its users to find the game’s icon and click the options button before selecting Check For Updates. Both options should prompt downloads for any updates that you could have missed.
An Xbox One player discovered another possible fix to the error. Players can try uninstalling the reserved data and then downloading the update all over again.
This should solve the Savannah problem unless something is faulty with the Modern Warfare servers.
