"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. 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 customizable 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 sparked worry among the Call of Duty PC community, fearing longer queue times due to console players opting out of crossplay to avoid PC cheaters.

Cheating has been a persistent issue in Call of Duty, particularly on PC, as Activision has acknowledged. This has led some console players to disable crossplay entirely to avoid encounters with cheaters. The new settings give console players the option to play exclusively with other console users, potentially reducing their exposure to PC-based cheating.

PC players have expressed frustration over this change, with some like redditor exjr_ stating, "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." Others, such as X / Twitter user @GKeepnclassy, have been more vocal, saying, "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."

Some PC players, like @CBBMack, have noted existing issues with matchmaking due to skill-based matchmaking (SBMM) and fear that the new settings will exacerbate the problem: "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."

There's a sentiment among PC players that Activision should focus on improving its anti-cheat measures rather than isolating PC players. Redditor MailConsistent1344 commented, "Maybe they should fix their anti-cheat instead of isolating PC players."

Activision has been actively combating cheating, spending millions and achieving notable successes, such as the shutdown of Phantom Overlay and other cheat providers. With the launch of Season 3, Activision promises enhanced anti-cheat technology, which could potentially alleviate some of the PC community's concerns, especially with the anticipated return of Verdansk to Warzone.

However, many in the 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 may not delve into the settings or patch notes. 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."

TheXclusiveAce further explained, "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 player experience and whether Activision's ongoing efforts to combat cheating will make a significant difference.