Activision Will Let Call of Duty Black Ops 6 and Warzone Ranked Console Players Disable Crossplay With PC as Cheating Complaints Ramp Up

Activision has responded to widespread player concerns regarding cheating in Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 and Warzone, announcing plans to allow console players in Ranked Play to disable crossplay with PC players. The prevalence of cheating since the introduction of Ranked Play in Season 1 of both games last year has sparked significant backlash from the community, with many citing it as a detriment to competitive gameplay.

Activision's Team Ricochet, responsible for anti-cheat technology, acknowledged shortcomings in the Season 1 launch, stating that their anti-cheat integration "did not hit the mark, particularly for Ranked Play." However, they've since implemented several updates.

A recent blog post details Activision's 2025 anti-cheat strategy, revealing over 136,000 Ranked Play account bans since the mode's launch. Season 2 will introduce enhanced client and server-side detection systems, along with a major kernel-level driver update. Further advancements, including a new player authentication system designed to target cheaters, are promised for Season 3 and beyond. Specific details on this new system are being withheld to prevent cheat developers from exploiting the technology.

A key immediate change is the introduction of crossplay disabling for console players in Black Ops 6 and Warzone Ranked Play, starting with Season 2. This addresses concerns that a significant portion of cheating originates on PC, a practice already employed by many console players in standard Multiplayer. Activision will monitor the impact of this change and consider further adjustments to maintain game integrity.

While Activision's efforts are ongoing, they continue to face skepticism from the community. Cheating, a persistent issue across the gaming industry, has become a major reputational challenge for Activision, particularly since the surge in popularity of Warzone in 2020. The company has invested heavily in anti-cheat technology and legal action against cheat developers, achieving several high-profile victories.

Prior to the release of Black Ops 6, Activision aimed to ban cheaters within an hour of their first match. The game launched with an updated Ricochet kernel-level driver (also applied to Warzone), incorporating new machine-learning systems to rapidly detect and analyze gameplay, countering aimbots. Activision emphasizes that cheat developers are organized, profit-driven groups, but their actions leave traceable evidence, allowing for their identification and removal.