With the launch of Season 3 this week, *Call of Duty: Black Ops 6* and *Warzone* are set to introduce significant changes that have sparked concerns within the PC gaming community, particularly regarding matchmaking queue times. Activision's Season 3 patch notes detail a major overhaul in regular Multiplayer, 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, Season 3 will implement the following crossplay options across three settings: Multiplayer Ranked Play, *Call of Duty: Warzone* Ranked Play, and Multiplayer Unranked:

• 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)" might negatively impact matchmaking queue times, while choosing "Off" will definitely result in longer wait times. It's the introduction of console-only crossplay in regular Multiplayer that has raised alarms among PC players, who fear this could lead to extended queue times for them. The concern stems from the prevalent issue of cheating in *Call of Duty*, particularly on PC, which Activision has acknowledged. As a result, many console players opt to disable crossplay to avoid encounters with PC-based cheaters.

The PC community's reaction has been vocal and varied. Redditor exjr_ expressed understanding but concern, stating, "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, pointed out existing challenges with matchmaking, saying, "My lobbies barely fill already to being 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 have argued 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 indeed invested heavily in combating cheating, with notable successes such as the recent shutdown of Phantom Overlay and other cheat providers. Despite these efforts, the battle against cheating remains challenging. With the launch of Season 3, Activision has promised improved anti-cheat technology, which may help alleviate some of the concerns, especially with the anticipated return of Verdansk to *Warzone*.

However, a significant portion of the console player base, known for its casual engagement with *Call of Duty*, may remain unaware of these new settings. Most players tend to jump into unranked Multiplayer without delving into patch notes or settings, potentially continuing to play with crossplay enabled by default. This perspective was echoed by *Call of Duty* YouTuber TheXclusiveAce, who noted, "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."

He further added, "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 remains to be seen how these changes will affect the gaming experience and whether Activision's ongoing efforts to combat cheating will reassure the PC community.