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 Black Ops 6 and Warzone last year has sparked significant outrage within the community. Many believe cheating is severely undermining the competitive experience. Activision previously acknowledged shortcomings in their initial anti-cheat measures for Season 1, admitting they fell short of expectations, particularly within Ranked Play.

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-side and server-side detection systems, alongside a major kernel-level driver update. Further advancements, including a new player authentication system designed to identify and 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 for Season 2 is the introduction of crossplay disabling for console players in Ranked Play for Black Ops 6 and Warzone. Given the widely held belief that a significant portion of cheating originates on PC, this option addresses a long-standing request from console players who routinely disable crossplay in standard Multiplayer. Activision will 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 Ricochet anti-cheat technology and pursued legal action against cheat developers, achieving notable successes. Prior to the launch of Black Ops 6, Activision aimed for sub-one-hour detection and removal of cheaters from their first match. This involved an updated kernel-level driver (also applied to Warzone) and new machine-learning systems focusing on rapid detection and gameplay analysis to counter aimbots. Activision acknowledges the sophisticated and organized nature of cheat developers, emphasizing their ongoing efforts to identify and remove cheaters.