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 surge in cheating complaints followed the introduction of Ranked Play in Black Ops 6 and Warzone last year. Many players felt the prevalence of cheaters was 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 the 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 detailed Activision's 2025 anti-cheat roadmap, 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 novel player authentication system designed to identify and target cheaters, are promised for Season 3 and beyond. Specific details on this new system were withheld to prevent cheat developers from exploiting the information.

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

Activision emphasized ongoing monitoring and the possibility of further adjustments to maintain game integrity, promising additional details closer to the feature's release.

While Activision's anti-cheat updates are often met with skepticism, the issue of cheating remains a major concern, particularly since the rise in popularity of the free-to-play Warzone in 2020. Activision has invested heavily in anti-cheat technology and legal action against cheat developers, with several recent high-profile successes.

Prior to Black Ops 6's launch, Activision aimed for one-hour detection and removal of cheaters from their first match. The game launched with an updated Ricochet kernel-level driver (also implemented in Warzone), incorporating new machine-learning behavioral systems for faster detection and gameplay analysis to counter aimbots.

Activision acknowledged the sophisticated and organized nature of cheat developers, highlighting their efforts to constantly analyze game data to find exploitable vulnerabilities. However, they emphasized that cheat developers inevitably leave traces, providing valuable clues for detection and removal.