Battle royale shooter Call of Duty: Warzone offers crossplay between the PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC, but console players are deactivating the feature in order to avoid cheaters.
Infinity Ward is aware of the issue in Warzone, and is working hard to eliminate cheaters from the game.
We've now issued over 70,000 bans worldwide to protect #Warzone from cheaters. We're continuing to deploy dedicated security updates and work continues on improving in-game reporting. We'll share more details soon. We are watching. We have zero tolerance for cheaters.
— Infinity Ward (@InfinityWard) April 13, 2020
Unfortunately, it appears that the developer’s efforts are not yet enough, especially among PlayStation 4 and Xbox One players, as they have been blocking Warzone‘s crossplay feature so that they will not have to play with cheaters on PC, Eurogamer reported.
Cheating in online multiplayer games has been uncommon on the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One, primarily because of the difficulty in running cheats on consoles. It is a different story for the PC though, where cheating has been rampant in other games such as fellow battle royale shooters PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds and Apex Legends.
The same is now true for Warzone, which was just launched last month. Players may have access to essential tips to help them win matches, but even the most skilled players will find it difficult, and perhaps even impossible, to win against opponents who always hit headshots and shoot through walls.
The frustration against cheaters has been forcing PlayStation 4 and Xbox One players to turn off crossplay. While this is allowed, in-game messages appear that encourage players to turn the feature back on.
Crossplay allows friends on different platforms to play with or against each other. For battle royale games such as Warzone, this also means that matches are filled faster due to the wider pool of players, which otherwise may take a while for a game that supports up to 150 players in a single match. However, if the cheating issue is not addressed quickly, crossplay may quickly prove to be a curse rather than a blessing.
Call of Duty: Warzone free-to-play
Digital Trends reviewed Call of Duty: Warzone as “the definitive battle royale experience right now,” and it helps that it is a free-to-play game that does not require players to first purchase the latest entry in the series, 2019’s Call of Duty: Modern Warfare.
However, despite it being a free-to-play, cross-platform game, Warzone may start losing players if they get hit with headshots at every corner.
