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

Activision Tackles Call of Duty Cheating with New Anti-Cheat Measures and Crossplay Options

Activision has responded to widespread player concerns regarding cheating in Call of Duty's Black Ops 6 and Warzone, announcing significant updates to its anti-cheat strategy and offering console players in Ranked Play the option to disable crossplay with PC players.

The issue of cheating has intensified since the introduction of Ranked Play in Black Ops 6 and Warzone last year. Many players believe the prevalence of cheaters is severely impacting competitive gameplay, leading to criticism of Activision's initial response.

Activision's Team Ricochet, responsible for the company's anti-cheat technology, previously acknowledged shortcomings in its Season 1 launch. They stated that while subsequent updates improved the situation, the initial Ricochet Anti-Cheat integration, especially in Ranked Play, fell short of expectations.

A recent blog post details Activision's comprehensive anti-cheat plan for 2025. The company revealed over 136,000 Ranked Play accounts have been banned since the mode's launch. Season 2 will introduce enhanced client-side and server-side detection systems, along with a major kernel-level driver update. Further advancements are promised for Season 3 and beyond, including a novel player authentication system designed to identify and target cheaters more effectively. Specific details on this new system are being withheld to prevent cheat developers from exploiting it.

A key immediate change for Season 2 is the introduction of crossplay disabling for console players in Black Ops 6 and Warzone Ranked Play. Given that a majority of cheating incidents originate from PC players, this option mirrors the existing crossplay disabling feature already available in standard Multiplayer modes for console players.

Activision will closely monitor the impact of this change and consider further adjustments to maintain game integrity. They have indicated more information will be shared closer to the feature's launch.

While Activision's anti-cheat efforts are often met with skepticism from the community, the company has invested heavily in developing its Ricochet anti-cheat technology and pursuing legal action against cheat developers, resulting in several high-profile victories.

Prior to Black Ops 6's release, Activision aimed to ban cheaters within an hour of their first match. The game launched with an updated Ricochet kernel-level driver (also implemented in Warzone), incorporating new machine learning systems for faster detection and improved gameplay analysis to counter aimbots. Activision acknowledges the sophisticated and organized nature of cheat developers, emphasizing their ongoing efforts to identify and remove cheaters from the game.