Activision Will Let Call of Duty Black Ops 6 and Warzone Ranked Console Players Disable Crossplay With PC as Cheating Complaints Ramp Up

Activision Tackles Call of Duty Cheating with New Anti-Cheat Measures and Crossplay Options

Activision has responded to widespread player concerns regarding cheating in Call of Duty's Black Ops 6 and Warzone, announcing significant updates to its anti-cheat strategy and offering console players the option to disable crossplay with PC players in Ranked Play.

The prevalence of cheaters in Ranked Play, introduced last year with Season 1, has become a major point of contention within the Call of Duty community. Activision previously acknowledged shortcomings in its initial Ricochet Anti-Cheat implementation, admitting it fell short of expectations, particularly in Ranked Play.

A recent blog post details Activision's 2025 anti-cheat roadmap. The company revealed over 136,000 Ranked Play accounts have been banned since the mode's launch. Season 2 will introduce enhanced client and server-side detection systems, along with a crucial kernel-level driver update. Further advancements, including a novel player authentication system designed to identify and target cheaters, are promised for Season 3 and beyond. Specific details on this new system are being withheld to prevent cheat developers from exploiting it.

A key immediate change for Season 2 is the introduction of console crossplay disabling in Ranked Play. This allows console players to compete exclusively against other console players, addressing the widely held belief that a significant portion of cheating originates from PC players. This feature mirrors the existing crossplay disabling option already available in standard Multiplayer modes for console players. Activision will closely monitor the impact of this change and consider further adjustments to maintain game integrity.

While Activision's anti-cheat efforts are often met with skepticism from the community, the company has invested heavily in Ricochet, pursuing legal action against cheat developers and achieving notable successes. Prior to Black Ops 6's launch, Activision aimed for a one-hour ban timeframe for detected cheaters. The game launched with an updated Ricochet kernel-level driver and machine learning systems designed for rapid detection and analysis of gameplay to counter aimbots. Activision highlights the sophisticated and organized nature of cheat developers, emphasizing their ongoing efforts to identify and remove cheaters.