"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 raised concerns within the PC gaming community, particularly regarding potential impacts on matchmaking queue times. Activision released the Season 3 patch notes, confirming a major update to regular Multiplayer by separating the settings for Multiplayer Ranked Play and Call of Duty: Warzone Ranked Play. Additionally, a new setting for Multiplayer-only modes, including Quickplay, Featured, and Party Games, has been introduced.

Starting April 4, when Season 3 goes live, players will have the following crossplay options for these three settings:

• 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)" may lead to longer queue times, and choosing "Off" will definitely impact matchmaking queue times negatively. The introduction of console-only crossplay in regular Multiplayer has sparked worry among PC players, who fear it could result in longer wait times for matches.

The concern stems from the ongoing issue of cheating in *Call of Duty*, which is more prevalent on PC platforms. Activision has acknowledged this problem, noting that unfair deaths by console players are more likely due to 'intel advantage' than actual cheating. As a result, many console players opt to disable crossplay to avoid potential encounters with PC cheaters.

PC players have expressed their frustration over this change. Reddit user exjr_ commented, "As a PC player…. hate this change but I get it. I hope it doesn’t affect queue times for the game in the long-run so I’m not forced to buy the game on PS5 to have a good experience." Similarly, @GKeepnclassy on X / Twitter stated, "This is awful for PC players because this just killed PC. Terrible idea because now PC players that ARE NOT cheating are being penalized. This is bullshit." Another player, @CBBMack, added, "My lobbies barely fill already to begin with on PC due to sbmm. This will without a doubt make it worse. Time to plug in the console I guess."

Some in the community argue that Activision should focus on improving its anti-cheat systems 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 several recent successes reported by IGN, including the shutdown of prominent cheat provider Phantom Overlay and four other cheat providers ahead of the return of Verdansk to *Warzone*. Despite these efforts, the battle against cheating remains challenging. Activision has promised enhancements to its anti-cheat technology with the launch of Season 3, which could potentially alleviate some of the concerns from PC players.

However, a significant portion of the console player base may remain unaffected by these changes. Many casual players do not delve into patch notes or settings adjustments, simply enjoying unranked Multiplayer without altering their crossplay options. This point was highlighted by *Call of Duty* YouTuber TheXclusiveAce, who noted, "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 Season 3 approaches for *Black Ops 6* and *Warzone*, it will be intriguing to observe how these changes influence the gaming experience and whether they contribute to Activision's ongoing efforts to combat cheating.