COD Console-Only Crossplay Penalizes Honest PC Players

With the arrival of Season 3, Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 and Warzone are introducing a major update that some PC players worry could result in longer wait times for matchmaking.

Activision released the Season 3 patch notes, confirming a substantial shift for standard Multiplayer. The update separates Multiplayer Ranked Play and Warzone Ranked Play configurations while adding a new Multiplayer-only setting for Quickplay, Featured, and Party Games playlists.

Once Season 3 launches on April 4, each of these three modes—Multiplayer Ranked Play, Call of Duty: Warzone Ranked Play, and Multiplayer Unranked—will offer the following crossplay choices:

On: Players in these playlists can matchmake with gamers on any platform.
On (Consoles Only): Limits matchmaking in selected playlists to console players exclusively.
Off: Restricts matchmaking to players using your current platform in chosen playlists.

Activision cautioned that choosing the “On (Consoles Only)” option may result in slower matchmaking times. The company also directly stated that turning crossplay “Off” will negatively affect queue speeds.

The introduction of console-only crossplay for regular Multiplayer has stirred concern in the PC community. Many believe that console players opting to exclude PC gamers from their matchmaking pool could lead to extended wait times for PC users. Their concern is easy to understand.

Call of Duty is often associated with cheating—a common issue in massively popular shooters with free-to-play battle royales. Cheating tends to be more widespread on PC, as Activision recently acknowledged, suggesting that deaths attributed to console players were more likely due to an intel advantage than actual cheating. As a result, many console players immediately disable crossplay to avoid any chance of encountering PC cheaters.

“As a PC player, I’m not a fan of this update, but I get the reasoning,” said Reddit user exjr_. “I really hope it doesn’t hurt queue times so much that I end up needing to buy the game on PS5 just to keep enjoying it.”

On X/Twitter, user @GKeepnclassy added, “This is terrible for PC gamers. It’s essentially killing off the PC player base. It’s unfair to punish honest PC players who don’t cheat. This is a terrible move.”

Another user, @CBBMack, shared, “My PC lobbies already struggle to fill up because of SBMM. This will absolutely make things worse. I guess it’s time to hook up the console again.”

Some PC players have voiced frustration with the change, arguing that Activision should focus on strengthening its anti-cheat systems so console players feel no need to disable crossplay. Redditor MailConsistent1344 noted, “Maybe they should fix the anti-cheat instead of alienating the PC community.”

As reported by IGN, Activision has invested millions of dollars fighting cheat developers, sellers, and users in Call of Duty, with significant victories in recent months. In early March, Phantom Overlay—a well-known cheat provider—announced it was shutting down, leaving fans surprised that such a major service would fold. Additionally, just last month, IGN covered the closure of four cheat providers ahead of the highly anticipated return of Verdansk to Warzone.

Despite these efforts, the fight remains challenging and potentially unwinnable. With Season 3, Activision has pledged improved anti-cheat technology. It will be interesting to see whether PC players detect any tangible improvements, especially with the surge of players expected from Verdansk’s comeback in Warzone.

At the same time, many have pointed out that the vast majority of casual console players may never even notice these new options. Most won’t read patch notes or spend time adjusting advanced settings. They simply jump into unranked matches for a few hours of fun, then log off. These players might never see the console-only crossplay setting or understand its purpose. As a result, a large share of the console audience will likely continue playing with the default crossplay settings—effectively unaffected by the change.

This perspective was echoed by Call of Duty YouTuber TheXclusiveAce, who responded to PC players’ concerns in a social media post.

“I’m seeing strong reactions to this change from the PC community, with many worried about longer matchmaking times in less-populated modes,” TheXclusiveAce wrote. “To be clear, PC players will still be able to match with the largest segment of the player base, because most gamers won’t even know this setting exists.

“Many will stick to the default—including those who do know about the option but still choose to leave crossplay on. If anything, the ones selecting console-only crossplay are the ones limiting their own matchmaking pool. It’s a choice now available in public matches for the first time, and it’s a trade-off that many of us will gladly accept."

As Season 3 nears for Black Ops 6 and Warzone, it remains to be seen how these new settings impact the matchmaking experience, all while Activision's war on cheating continues.