Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 is out now, and Xbox and PC players have been disappointed to find that they have no option to disable cross-play in the game’s settings.
As widely reported on Reddit and elsewhere, Xbox and PC players are unable to use Modern Warfare 2’s menus to disable the feature that allows players on different platforms to play together. However, PlayStation players do have the option to turn cross-play off.
Xbox players have a workaround: they can disable cross-play at system level. But PC players don’t have this option.
The reasons for the option’s disappearance aren’t known. It was reportedly present on all platforms in the recent beta test, so it could just be a bug.
Some players prefer to play without cross-play to ensure a fair, competitive experience. Debate rages over which camp has an advantage: PC players, with fast keyboard and mouse controls and potentially faster frame rates, or console players, who play with controllers and aim assist. But all agree that it’s not an exactly like-for-like comparison. (For the record, developer Infinity Ward has said that very skilled mouse-and-keyboard players have an advantage over controller users, but for the majority of players, controller is statistically a better option.)
One potential solution is input-based matchmaking, which attempts to match players with others using the same control method. Infinity Ward implemented this in 2019’s Modern Warfare, but by most accounts it didn’t work that well — perhaps due to the conflicting demands of skill-based matchmaking and the general availability of players.
Polygon has reached out to an Activision representative for an explanation of Modern Warfare 2’s cross-play options and whether a title update will change them, or make them uniform.