"New Console-Only Crossplay 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 significant changes that are causing concern within the PC community regarding 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. A new setting for Multiplayer-only Quickplay, Featured, and Party Games matches has also been introduced.

Starting April 4, when Season 3 goes live, players will have the following crossplay options for each of the three settings (Multiplayer Ranked Play, *Call of Duty: Warzone* Ranked Play, and Multiplayer Unranked):

• 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 definitely affect queue times adversely. The introduction of console-only crossplay for regular Multiplayer has raised concerns among the PC community, fearing longer wait times for matches.

Cheating has been a persistent issue in *Call of Duty*, particularly on PC, where it is more prevalent. Activision has acknowledged this, stating that unfair deaths attributed to console players are more likely due to 'intel advantage' rather than cheating. As a result, many console players opt to disable crossplay to avoid potential encounters with PC cheaters. This change, allowing console players to exclude PC players from their matchmaking pool, has sparked backlash from the PC community.

PC players like redditor exjr_ and X / Twitter user @GKeepnclassy have expressed their frustration, with some suggesting that Activision should focus on improving its anti-cheat measures rather than segregating players. @CBBMack highlighted the existing challenges with matchmaking due to skill-based matchmaking (SBMM) on PC, predicting further difficulties with this update.

Activision has invested heavily in combating cheating, achieving notable successes such as the shutdown of Phantom Overlay and several other cheat providers. Despite these efforts, the fight against cheating remains challenging. The company has promised enhanced anti-cheat technology with the launch of Season 3, which could potentially ease some of the concerns from the PC community, especially with the anticipated return of Verdansk to *Warzone*.

However, many within 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. As pointed out by *Call of Duty* YouTuber TheXclusiveAce, most players jump into unranked Multiplayer for casual fun without delving into patch notes or adjusting settings. Therefore, the majority of console players might continue to play with crossplay on by default, potentially mitigating the impact on PC player matchmaking times.

TheXclusiveAce emphasized that PC players will still match with the largest pool of players since many console players won't notice or care about the new setting. He noted that it's the console players who choose to enable console-only crossplay that will limit their matchmaking pool, a choice now available to them for the first time in public matches.

As Season 3 approaches for *Black Ops 6* and *Warzone*, it will be crucial to monitor how these changes affect the gaming experience, particularly as Activision's battle against cheating continues.