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 reports following the introduction of Ranked Play in Black Ops 6 and Warzone last year's Season 1 has ignited intense debate within the Call of Duty community. Many players believe rampant cheating is undermining competitive integrity, leading to criticism of Activision's initial response.

Activision's Team Ricochet, the anti-cheat division, acknowledged shortcomings in its Season 1 launch, stating that Ricochet Anti-Cheat integration fell short of expectations, particularly in Ranked Play.

A recent blog post details 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-side 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 are withheld to prevent cheat developers from exploiting the technology.

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 perceived higher prevalence of cheating on PC, this option mirrors the existing crossplay disabling feature already available in standard Multiplayer modes for console players.

Activision plans to closely monitor the impact of this change and consider further adjustments to maintain game integrity.

While Activision's anti-cheat efforts are often met with skepticism, the company has invested heavily in its Ricochet anti-cheat technology and legal action against cheat developers, resulting in several high-profile successes. Prior to Black Ops 6's launch, Activision aimed for sub-one-hour detection and removal of cheaters from their first match. The game launched with an updated Ricochet kernel-level driver (also applied to Warzone), incorporating new machine-learning behavioral systems to rapidly detect and analyze gameplay, countering aimbots.

Activision acknowledges the sophisticated nature of cheat developers, describing them as organized, profit-driven groups actively seeking vulnerabilities within the game's data. However, the company emphasizes that even these sophisticated cheats leave detectable traces, allowing for ongoing efforts to identify and ban offenders.