Call Of Duty Console-Only Crossplay Hurts PC Players

With the launch of Season 3 this week, Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 and Warzone are introducing a major update that some PC players fear could increase their matchmaking wait times.

Activision has released the Season 3 patch notes, confirming a significant adjustment to standard Multiplayer. Ranked Play settings for Multiplayer and Call of Duty: Warzone will now be separated, and a new Multiplayer-only option will be added for Quickplay, Featured, and Party Games matches.

When Season 3 goes live on April 4, each of these three settings—Multiplayer Ranked Play, Call of Duty: Warzone Ranked Play, and Multiplayer Unranked—will include the following crossplay options:

On: Matchmaking includes all gaming platforms for the selected playlists.
On (Consoles Only): Matchmaking is limited to console players only in the chosen playlists.
Off: Matchmaking is restricted to your current gaming platform in selected playlists.

Activision specifically warned that selecting "On (Consoles Only)" could lead to longer queue times, and stated that choosing "Off" will definitely impact matchmaking speed.

The introduction of console-only crossplay for standard Multiplayer has raised concerns within the Call of Duty PC community. Players worry that allowing console users to exclude PC players from matchmaking could result in longer queue times for PC gamers, and their concerns are understandable.

Call of Duty has a well-known issue with cheating, which is common for such a popular shooter that includes a free-to-play battle royale mode. Cheating is more widespread on PC—Activision recently acknowledged this, noting that if you suspect unfair play from a console user, it's more likely due to their "intel advantage" than cheating. As a result, many console players disable crossplay entirely to avoid potential encounters with PC cheaters.

"As a PC player, I dislike this change, but I understand it," commented redditor exjr_. "I hope it doesn't affect queue times long-term, so I'm not forced to buy the game on PS5 for a better experience."

"This is terrible for PC players because it essentially ruins the PC experience," added X/Twitter user @GKeepnclassy. "It's a bad idea since honest PC players are being punished. This is unfair."

"My PC lobbies already struggle to fill up due to skill-based matchmaking," said @CBBMack. "This will undoubtedly make it worse. Maybe it's time to switch to console."

Some PC players have expressed frustration, arguing that Activision should focus on improving its anti-cheat measures rather than isolating PC players. "Maybe they should fix their anti-cheat instead of leaving PC players out," suggested redditor MailConsistent1344.

As IGN has reported, Activision has invested millions in combating Call of Duty cheat developers, sellers, and users, with several notable successes recently. In early March, Phantom Overlay announced it was shutting down, surprising fans who didn't expect such a prominent cheat provider to fold. Last month, IGN covered four cheat services that were terminated just before the highly anticipated return of Verdansk to Warzone.
However, the fight against cheaters remains challenging. Activision has promised enhanced anti-cheat technology with Season 3, so it will be interesting to see if PC players notice any improvements, especially with the influx of players expected from Verdansk's comeback.

That said, many have pointed out that the average, casual Call of Duty player on console may never even notice these new settings. Most players don't read patch notes or spend time adjusting settings—they simply jump into unranked Multiplayer, play for a couple of hours, and log off. These players might not realize console-only crossplay is an option or understand why it matters. As a result, the majority of console players will likely continue playing as usual, with crossplay disabled by default.

Call of Duty YouTuber TheXclusiveAce addressed these concerns in a social media post, stating, "I see a lot of pushback from PC players worried about finding matches in less popular modes or dealing with longer queue times. To be clear, PC players will still match with the largest portion of the player base, since most players won't even know this setting exists and will stick with the default—or even if they do know, many will leave it on.

"If anything, players who choose console-only crossplay are the ones limiting their matchmaking pool, but that's a choice now available in public matches for the first time—a tradeoff many of us will gladly make."

As Season 3 arrives for Black Ops 6 and Warzone, it will be interesting to see if these adjustments have a noticeable impact as Activision's ongoing battle against cheaters continues.