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 the PC community about potential impacts on matchmaking queue times. Activision has released the Season 3 patch notes, confirming a major update to regular Multiplayer by separating the Multiplayer Ranked Play and Call of Duty: Warzone Ranked Play settings. Additionally, a new Multiplayer-only setting for Quickplay, Featured, and Party Games matches has been introduced.
Starting April 4, players will have three distinct settings for matchmaking in these modes:
- 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) could negatively impact matchmaking queue times, and selecting Off will certainly do so. The introduction of console-only crossplay options for regular Multiplayer has sparked worry among PC players, who fear that console players opting out of crossplay with PC may lead to longer queue times for them.
The concern stems from the prevalent issue of cheating in *Call of Duty*, which is more common on PC. Activision has acknowledged this, noting that unfair deaths attributed to console players are more likely due to 'intel advantage' than cheats. As a result, many console players choose to disable crossplay to avoid potential encounters with PC cheaters.
PC players have expressed frustration over this change. 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, X / Twitter user @GKeepnclassy 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, added, "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 enhancing 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 invested heavily in combating cheating within *Call of Duty*, achieving several high-profile successes recently. For instance, Phantom Overlay announced its shutdown in March, and four other cheat providers were closed down last month in anticipation of Verdansk's return to *Warzone*. Despite these efforts, the fight against cheating remains challenging. Activision has promised improved anti-cheat technology with the launch of Season 3, which could potentially alleviate some of the concerns from PC players, especially with the anticipated influx of players due to Verdansk's return.
However, it's worth noting that many console players, who form the majority of the *Call of Duty* player base, might not even be aware of these new settings. Most players simply jump into unranked Multiplayer for casual fun and do not delve into patch notes or settings adjustments. As a result, they may continue playing with crossplay enabled by default, unaware of the console-only option.
*Call of Duty* YouTuber TheXclusiveAce addressed the PC community's 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 the 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 intriguing to observe whether these changes significantly impact the gaming experience and how Activision's ongoing battle against cheating evolves.
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