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 sparked concerns within the PC community about potential impacts on their matchmaking queue times. Activision has released the Season 3 patch notes, confirming a major update to regular Multiplayer by separating the settings for Multiplayer Ranked Play and Call of Duty: Warzone Ranked Play, and introducing a new Multiplayer-only setting for Quickplay, Featured, and Party Games matches.
Starting April 4, these three settings—Multiplayer Ranked Play, Call of Duty: Warzone Ranked Play, and Multiplayer Unranked—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 negatively impact matchmaking queue times, and choosing "Off" will definitely do so. The introduction of console-only crossplay in regular Multiplayer has raised alarms among some PC players, who fear longer queue times as a result of console players opting out of crossplay to avoid PC cheaters.
Cheating has been a persistent issue in *Call of Duty*, particularly on PC, where Activision has acknowledged its prevalence. Some console players disable crossplay to avoid encounters with PC cheaters, which has led to concerns about the new settings exacerbating this issue for PC players. PC players like redditor exjr_ have expressed frustration but understanding, hoping the change won't severely impact queue times. Others, such as X / Twitter user @GKeepnclassy, have criticized the move, arguing that it unfairly penalizes non-cheating PC players. @CBBMack echoed these sentiments, noting that existing matchmaking issues on PC could worsen.
Some PC players have called for Activision to enhance its anti-cheat measures rather than isolating PC players. Activision has indeed invested heavily in combating cheating, with recent successes including the shutdown of prominent cheat providers like Phantom Overlay. Despite these efforts, the battle against cheating remains challenging. With the launch of Season 3, Activision has promised improved anti-cheat technology, which could be crucial as the return of Verdansk to *Warzone* is expected to attract a surge of players.
However, many in the console community may remain unaware of these new settings, as casual players typically do not delve into patch notes or settings. They may continue playing with crossplay enabled by default, unaware of the option to limit their matchmaking to consoles only. This point was highlighted by *Call of Duty* YouTuber TheXclusiveAce, who noted that the majority of players will likely stick with the default settings, meaning PC players will still have access to a large player pool.
As Season 3 approaches for *Black Ops 6* and *Warzone*, it will be fascinating to observe whether these changes significantly affect matchmaking and how Activision's ongoing efforts to combat cheating evolve.
