"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 community about potential impacts on their matchmaking queue times. Activision has 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 Multiplayer-only setting will be introduced for Quickplay, Featured, and Party Games matches.

Starting April 4, each of these three settings (Multiplayer Ranked Play, Call of Duty: Warzone Ranked Play, and Multiplayer Unranked) will come with 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 explicitly warned that selecting "On (Consoles Only)" may negatively impact matchmaking queue times, and choosing "Off" will definitely lead to longer queue times. The introduction of console-only crossplay in regular Multiplayer has sparked concerns among the Call of Duty PC community. Many fear that this option will allow console players to avoid matchmaking with PC players, potentially leading to longer wait times for them.

The prevalence of cheating in Call of Duty, particularly on PC, is a well-known issue. Activision has acknowledged that cheating is more common on PC, and some console players turn off crossplay to avoid potential cheaters. This has led to frustration among PC players, with some expressing their discontent online.

Redditor 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." Another user, @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." @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 PC players argue that Activision should focus on improving 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 been actively combating cheating in Call of Duty, investing millions and achieving several high-profile successes. Earlier in March, Phantom Overlay announced its shutdown, and four other cheat providers were closed down ahead of Verdansk's return to Warzone. Despite these efforts, the battle against cheating remains challenging. Activision has promised enhanced anti-cheat technology with Season 3, which will be crucial as Verdansk's return is expected to bring an influx of players to Warzone.

However, many in the community believe that the majority of console players, who are typically casual gamers, may not even notice these new settings. Most players do not delve into patch notes or spend time adjusting settings; they simply jump into unranked Multiplayer for a quick session. As a result, these players might not be aware of the console-only crossplay option or understand its purpose, and may continue playing with crossplay on by default.

Call of Duty YouTuber TheXclusiveAce addressed PC player concerns on social media, 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 Season 3 approaches for Black Ops 6 and Warzone, it remains to be seen how these changes will affect the game's community and whether Activision's ongoing efforts to combat cheating will alleviate the concerns of PC players.