The eternal debate rages on
When Call of Duty: Modern Warfare was announced last week, its biggest feature was the addition of cross-play multiplayer. Joining the ranks of Fortnite and Rocket League, COD would be the first triple-A game to tear down the walls of restrictive console networks and allow everyone to have fun together. Since COD is a heavily skill-based FPS game, though, a lot of console players were questioning if they could filter out PC players to avoid getting stomped all night.
In a report on Forbes, cross-play between the different platforms was described as being “input-based.” This was implemented by Activision to prevent PC players from completely dominating online lobbies. If you’re unsure what that description means, it boils down to how you’re playing the game. On PC, users can opt to plug in a gamepad and replicate the console experience. When doing so, they’ll be matched with console players automatically whereas console players will have to opt into being matched against anyone with a keyboard and mouse.
The only time anyone playing with a mouse and keyboard will be matched with a gamepad player is when they are partied together. This is pretty much what Epic does with Fortnite, limiting the frustration by filtering out players based on how they are playing the game. The only wrench in the plan comes with Sony’s seven-day exclusivity on DLC. There is no mention of whether or not PS4 players will be filtered out for a week or not, but a week isn’t that long of a time. With Modern Warfare ditching season passes, it’s not like players won’t have access to all post-launch content anyway.
In all honesty, this is how it should be done. While I’m not opposed to playing against a keyboard and mouse player on consoles, I understand how unbalanced that might be. Allowing the option, though, is perfect. If someone thinks they are hot stuff, they can try their luck without harming anyone else. Options are great and I wish one particular company would understand that.
‘Call of Duty: Modern Warfare‘ Crossplay Is A Dam-Breaking Moment For the Industry [Forbes]
