"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 sparked concern among some members of the PC community regarding their matchmaking queue times. Activision has released the Season 3 patch notes, confirming a major update to regular Multiplayer. The update separates the settings for Multiplayer Ranked Play and *Call of Duty: Warzone* Ranked Play, and introduces 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 these modes, each 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 warned that selecting "On (Consoles Only)" may negatively impact matchmaking queue times, and choosing "Off" will certainly do so. The introduction of console-only crossplay in regular Multiplayer has raised alarms among the *Call of Duty* PC community, who fear longer queue times as a result. This concern stems from the game's reputation for cheating, which is more prevalent on PC. Activision has acknowledged this issue, noting that unfair deaths attributed to console players are more likely due to 'intel advantage' than actual cheating. Consequently, many console players opt to disable crossplay to avoid potential encounters with PC cheaters.

PC players have expressed frustration over this change. 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." Similarly, X / Twitter user @GKeepnclassy 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 user, @CBBMack, added, "My lobbies barely fill already to being 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 indeed invested heavily in combating cheating, with recent successes including the shutdown of prominent cheat providers like Phantom Overlay and four others ahead of the anticipated return of Verdansk to *Warzone*. Despite these efforts, the battle against cheating remains challenging. Activision has promised enhanced anti-cheat technology with the launch of Season 3, which could potentially alleviate some of the PC community's concerns.

However, many in the *Call of Duty* community believe that the majority of console players, who are often casual gamers, may not even be aware of these new settings. Most players simply jump into unranked Multiplayer for a quick session and do not delve into patch notes or settings. As a result, they may continue playing with crossplay enabled by default, unaware of the option to switch to console-only matchmaking. This perspective was echoed by *Call of Duty* YouTuber TheXclusiveAce, who 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 gaming experience and whether Activision's ongoing efforts to combat cheating will make a noticeable difference.