"New Console-Only Crossplay Option Penalizes Non-Cheating PC Players in Call of Duty"

With the launch of Season 3 this week, Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 and Warzone are set to undergo a significant change that has stirred concerns within the PC gaming community about potential impacts on matchmaking queue times.

Activision released the Season 3 patch notes, confirming a major update to the Multiplayer mode. It's separating the settings for Multiplayer Ranked Play and Call of Duty: Warzone Ranked Play, and introducing a new Multiplayer-only setting for Quickplay, Featured, and Party Games matches.

Starting April 4, when Season 3 goes live, players will have three distinct settings for Multiplayer Ranked Play, Call of Duty: Warzone Ranked Play, and Multiplayer Unranked. Each setting will offer the following crossplay options:

• On: Enables matchmaking with all gaming platforms when playing in the selected playlists.
• On (Consoles Only): Enables matchmaking only with other consoles when playing in selected playlists.
• Off: Restricts matchmaking to your current gaming platform only in selected playlists.

Activision has warned that selecting On (Consoles Only) could negatively impact matchmaking queue times, while selecting Off will definitely lead to longer queue times.

The introduction of console-only crossplay in regular Multiplayer has raised alarms among PC players. They fear that console players opting out of crossplay with PC gamers might result in longer wait times for them. This concern is rooted in Call of Duty's history of cheating, which is reportedly more prevalent on PC. Activision itself has acknowledged this issue, stating that unfair deaths attributed to console players are more likely due to 'intel advantage' rather than cheating. Consequently, some console players disable crossplay entirely to avoid potential encounters with PC cheaters.

The reaction from the PC community has been vocal. Reddit user exjr_ expressed disappointment but understanding, hoping it won't affect queue times long-term. On X (formerly Twitter), @GKeepnclassy lamented the change, feeling it unfairly penalizes non-cheating PC players. @CBBMack mentioned already experiencing difficulty filling lobbies due to skill-based matchmaking (SBMM) and predicted further deterioration with this update.

Some PC players argue that Activision should focus on enhancing its anti-cheat measures rather than isolating PC players. Redditor MailConsistent1344 suggested, "Maybe they should fix their anti-cheat instead of isolating PC players."

Activision has invested heavily in combating cheating, with recent successes such as the shutdown of Phantom Overlay and several other cheat providers. With the launch of Season 3, Activision promises improved anti-cheat technology, which could be crucial, especially with the anticipated return of Verdansk to Warzone.

However, many believe that the casual console audience may not engage with these new settings. Most Call of Duty players do not delve into patch notes or settings, preferring to jump straight into unranked Multiplayer for casual fun. As a result, the majority might not even be aware of the console-only crossplay option or its purpose.

Call of Duty YouTuber TheXclusiveAce addressed PC player concerns, stating, “I see a lot of pushback with this change from PC players concerned that they won't be able to find games in lesser played modes or that matchmaking will take too long. To be clear, PC players will still be matchmaking with the largest pool of the playerbase since that majority of players won't even notice this setting exists so they'll stick to the default or even if they are aware of it, many will choose to leave it on. If anything, it's the players that decide to turn console-only crossplay on that will be limiting their matchmaking pool but that's a choice that's now in their hands for the first time in Pubs and it's a tradeoff that many of us will be happy to make.”

As Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 and Warzone approach Season 3, it will be interesting to see how these changes affect the gaming experience and whether they make a dent in Activision’s ongoing battle against cheating.