With the launch of Season 3 this week, Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 and Warzone are set to undergo significant changes, particularly affecting the PC gaming community. The Season 3 patch notes, published by Activision, outline a major update to regular Multiplayer, which now separates Multiplayer Ranked Play and Call of Duty: Warzone Ranked Play settings. Additionally, a new setting for Quickplay, Featured, and Party Games matches, dubbed Multiplayer Unranked, has been introduced.
Each of these three settings will offer the following crossplay options starting April 4:
- 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) or Off may lead to longer matchmaking queue times. The introduction of console-only crossplay in regular Multiplayer has sparked concern among PC players, who fear it may result in extended queue times for them. This concern stems from the prevalent issue of cheating within the Call of Duty community, which is more common on PC. Activision has acknowledged that cheating on consoles is far less frequent, with any unfair play often attributed to 'intel advantage' rather than outright cheating.
The reaction from the PC community has been vocal, with many expressing frustration. For instance, redditor exjr_ expressed understanding but also concern about the impact on PC queue times, while X / Twitter user @GKeepnclassy criticized the change for penalizing non-cheating PC players. Similarly, @CBBMack pointed out the potential worsening of matchmaking times due to skill-based matchmaking (SBMM) and suggested switching to console play as a possible solution.
Some PC players have called for Activision to improve its anti-cheat measures rather than isolating PC players. Despite spending millions on combating cheating, with recent successes like the shutdown of Phantom Overlay and other cheat providers, the battle against cheating remains challenging. Activision has promised enhanced anti-cheat technology with Season 3, which may help address these concerns, especially with the anticipated return of Verdansk to Warzone.
However, it's worth noting that the majority of Call of Duty's casual console audience may not engage with these new settings, as they are typically unaware of or uninterested in patch notes and detailed settings adjustments. Most players jump into unranked Multiplayer for casual fun and may continue to play with crossplay enabled by default. This point was emphasized by Call of Duty YouTuber TheXclusiveAce, who suggested that the impact on PC players might be less severe than feared, as the majority of console players will likely keep crossplay on.
As Season 3 approaches, it will be intriguing to observe how these changes affect matchmaking and the ongoing efforts to combat cheating in Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 and Warzone.
