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

With the launch of Season 3 this week, both Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 and Warzone are set to undergo significant changes that have sparked concern within the PC gaming community, particularly regarding matchmaking queue times. Activision's latest Season 3 patch notes revealed a major update to regular Multiplayer, introducing a separation between Multiplayer Ranked Play and Call of Duty: Warzone Ranked Play settings, along with a new Multiplayer-only setting for Quickplay, Featured, and Party Games matches.

Starting April 4, players will have three distinct settings to choose from: Multiplayer Ranked Play, Call of Duty: Warzone Ranked Play, and Multiplayer Unranked. Each setting offers different 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)" might negatively impact matchmaking queue times, while choosing "Off" will definitely result in longer wait times. This console-only crossplay option for regular Multiplayer has raised alarms among the Call of Duty PC community, fearing longer queue times due to console players opting out of matching with PC players.

The concern stems from the prevalence of cheating in Call of Duty, which is more common on PC platforms. Activision has acknowledged this issue, noting that unfair deaths attributed to console players are more likely due to 'intel advantage' rather than cheating. As a result, many console players disable crossplay to avoid potential cheaters from the PC side.

PC players have voiced their frustrations on platforms like Reddit and X / Twitter, with users like exjr_ expressing understanding but concern over potential long-term impacts on queue times, and others like @GKeepnclassy and @CBBMack lamenting the impact on PC lobbies and suggesting a switch to console gaming. Some, like MailConsistent1344, argue that Activision should focus on improving anti-cheat measures rather than isolating PC players.

Activision has indeed invested heavily in combating cheating, with recent successes in shutting down prominent cheat providers such as Phantom Overlay and several others ahead of the anticipated return of Verdansk to Warzone. Despite these efforts, the battle against cheating remains challenging. With the launch of Season 3, Activision has promised enhancements to anti-cheat technology, which could influence the PC gaming experience, especially with the expected influx of players returning to Verdansk.

However, many within the console community may remain unaware of these new settings, as casual players typically do not delve into patch notes or adjust settings. As pointed out by Call of Duty YouTuber TheXclusiveAce, the majority of console players will likely continue to play with crossplay enabled by default, either out of ignorance of the new options or a preference for the larger player pool. This means that PC players will still have access to a significant portion of the player base, while those who opt for console-only crossplay may face longer queue times due to their self-imposed limitations.

As Season 3 approaches for Black Ops 6 and Warzone, the community awaits to see how these changes will affect gameplay and whether Activision's ongoing efforts against cheating will yield noticeable improvements for PC players.