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 among some members of the PC community about their matchmaking queue times. Activision 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, introducing a new Multiplayer-only setting for Quickplay, Featured, and Party Games matches.
Starting April 4, when Season 3 goes live, players will have three settings to choose from: Multiplayer Ranked Play, *Call of Duty: Warzone* Ranked Play, and Multiplayer Unranked. Each of these settings will offer 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 result in longer matchmaking queue times, and choosing "Off" will certainly impact queue times negatively.
The introduction of console-only crossplay in regular Multiplayer has sparked concern among the *Call of Duty* PC community. They worry that console players opting to avoid matchmaking with PC players could lead to longer queue times for them. This concern is rooted in 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 often due to 'intel advantage' rather than cheating.
As a result, some console players disable crossplay to avoid potential cheaters from PC. This sentiment is echoed across social media, with PC players expressing frustration over the change. For instance, redditor exjr_ stated, "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, @GKeepnclassy on X / Twitter lamented, "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, noted, "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 remarked, "Maybe they should fix their anti-cheat instead of isolating PC players."
Activision has invested heavily in combating cheating within *Call of Duty*, achieving several high-profile victories recently. For example, Phantom Overlay announced its shutdown in March, and four other cheat providers were closed down last month 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 may impact PC players' experiences, especially with the expected influx of players returning to Verdansk.
However, many have pointed out that the casual console audience, which forms a significant part of the *Call of Duty* player base, might not even notice or utilize these new settings. Most players simply dive into unranked Multiplayer for casual fun and are unlikely to delve into patch notes or settings. As a result, the majority of console players may continue playing with crossplay enabled by default, unaware of the new options or their implications.
Call of Duty YouTuber TheXclusiveAce addressed PC players' 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 will be fascinating to see how these changes affect the game, particularly in the context of Activision's ongoing efforts to combat cheating.
