Ever since crossplay has been mass introduced, combined with the huge influx of new players around the globe that Warzone hooked. Crossplay has been a big issue for a lot of players.

When we refer to crossplay, we are mainly talking about the issues with different input devices on each platform (Controller & Mouse and Keyboard), competing against each other. Of course, you can use a controller on PC, and you can also use a mouse and keyboard on console, but this is a minority of players.

Lets discuss the issues with crossplay, when it was mass introduced, and why it is now becoming a problem for players and also developers.

WHEN WAS CROSSPLAY MASS INTRODUCED?

Technically, crossplay was mass introduced with Fortnite. We all know Fortnite was a huge success, but it really became prominent with the release of Warzone in 2020.

Warzone was an incredible game mode when it was first released, it attracted a huge amount of players, including people who had never really played many games at all, especially multiplayer game that are on more of the competitive side like Warzone.

They were drawn in firstly by the fact it was free, and available to play on a PS4, Xbox One or PC, of which most people most likely owned or had access to one of these. This allowed people to party up with their friends and experience something new, and experience for the first time why FPS games are so popular. The thrill of getting a win in Battle Royale games still doesn’t get old.

Since mid-2020, the Call of Duty player base has been massively bulked out by a more “casual” audience, majority of who play on a console, with a controller. Overall, this is of course a good thing, mainly for the people actually making the games, why? $$$.

Anyway, lets get into why this has caused some issues, toxicity within the community, and why it can lead to a bleed in the playerbase.

WHY CAN CROSSPLAY BE SEEN AS AN ISSUE?

YOU CANNOT BALANCE INPUTS

Quite simply, its impossible to balance two very different inputs. A controller works very differently to a mouse & keyboard. Both have their advantages. Its undeniable that a mouse is overall a stronger input, with a much higher skill ceiling to become a top tier player. This is one of the reasons why aim assist has become stronger and stronger over the years, so that players can compete with higher skill level mouse players (a lot of who have been playing for 10-20 years).

Of course, controllers should have some form of aim assist, it is necessary. However, it has become so strong in modern games such as Call of Duty, due to how it actually works (rotational), and how much assistance it now gives you, that a large number of controller players actually think it is too strong. This is a problem for several reasons:

• Gives player a false sense of how good they actually are, meaning aim assist can’t be reduced in future titles, and also other game developers will increase their aim assist to attract and retain players. They will think the game is bad, rather than it being them (sorry its true).
• It creates and fuels an imbalance when matching controller vs mouse players. The impossible task of trying to actually balance two very different input methods.
• It makes the game rely more on movement mechanics and decision making. Both of these are of course important to any FPS game and competitive scene. However, we now have a game where the movement is slow, animations are slow, game flow is overall “slow”. Combined with a very strong aim assist. This is not a good combo and leads to an overall more boring experience for everyone involved.
• There are really talented controller players out there, but the aim assist is now so strong that its difficult to distinguish who the good players actually are, you now have to judge this from their decision making. Manual aiming skill is becoming obsolete, with mouse players also being neglected.

HACKERS, HIGH SENSITIVITY PC PLAYERS & TOXIC COMMUNITIES

Hacking has been rampant in FPS games for years. This is an issue primarily on PC. Console players soon witnessed rampant hackers on PC, those who didn’t even attempt to hide it, and those who tried, and failed. This led to an outcry (rightly so) about the availability and widespread use of hacks in Warzone. It also led to an incredibly toxic playerbase, with people accusing each other left, right & centre.

If you play high sensitivity on a mouse, you are getting reported for hacking. Simple! This is a shame for many PC players who have been honing in their skills on a mouse for years and years across multiple different games. This also led to rage reporting, which the game developers some reason decided to act on, by banning players for random reasons such as “Offensive Name”. Nice system!

The point being, many of these issues can be avoided by introducing an input matching system, read more below about why this can massively improve the gaming experience for different types of players.

ALIENATING PLAYERS & CATERING TO A SPECIFIC AUDIENCE

Its become increasingly clear over the past 5 years that the game publishers really are in this for the money. At the end of the day, they are a business and are looking to maximise their profits. However, in doing so, they are potentially alienating a huge portion of their potential and current playerbase. The people who they are alienating are your potential pro players, content creators and those are really willing to put the hours into the game.

I genuinely believe that the way these games are being developed, their profits will take a hit in the long run as people get more bored, more frustrated and more alienated. Players will lose patience and just stop playing the games, this means, less profit generated. I mean, who really wants to spend $20 on a skin for a game they really don’t enjoy, can these companies rely on Battle Pass systems forever? Or launching a rushed game full of bugs to bulk up profits? People will soon get tired of this.

To be clear, this is mostly not the game developers fault. They do an amazing job and there are some incredibly talented people working for these companies.

HOW CAN THESE SYSTEMS BE IMPROVED?

Simply put, its impossible to balance inputs. More “serious” players have emerged in the gaming scene, these players want a fair, healthy & competitive environment, to prove they are the best and compete against other good players.

The player base in games such as Call of Duty, Apex Legends, Fortnite are large enough to be able to have healthy input based matchmaking systems. Would anyone actually complain about this?

INPUT BASED MATCHMAKING

“So, what is input based matchmaking?“

It would be a system where crossplay as it is today can remain, however, players who use a controller are only matched with other players who use a controller, and players who use a mouse & keyboard are also only matched with other MNK players.

With the improvements to FOV (field of view) & refresh rate on the newer consoles, the hardware gap between PC & console has been reduced, PC still has an advantage, but it has been massively improved and allowed for a much fairer experience. The main issues in performance and settings were Field of View (you could literally see more on a PC), and also refresh rate (monitor permitting).

BUT I WANT TO PLAY WITH MY FRIENDS WHO ARE ON DIFFERENT INPUTS?

Great, this system only needs to be enforced in a ranked system. More casual modes do not need any restrictions. Or even better, give players the choice, just like how you can turn crossplay off (most people don’t because you are alienating yourself to a very small percentage of players). More people would be likely to turn on an input-based matchmaking system, than crossplay.

ARE THERE ANY POTENTIAL ISSUES WITH THIS SYSTEM?

Yes, like most systems, they all have their disadvantages. But overall, this would be a positive inclusion, that would reignite players on both sides. Here are some potential problems:

• Splitting the playerbase. You would potentially be significantly lowering the playerbase on either input. But the other side of that is, you may be bringing more players back, or into the game. Therefore bulking the playerbase. Its a difficult one.
• Input masking. I’m sure there would be some way people could mask their input, actually use a mouse & keyboard but the game detects it as a controller. This would be a developer issue and down to them to resolve.
• Hacking. The inevitable unresolvable issue. 99.9% of hackers are on a PC. There is also a lot of controller players on PC. So input matching would still put these controller players with console players. This is simply an anti-cheat issue. There needs to be better anti-cheat in place (a very difficult issue).
• Split ranking and leaderboards. Potentially an issue, as you would have to include two different leaderboards and ranking systems. This of course depends how it was implemented, and what game it actually was. Not really a big issue in my eyes.

FINAL THOUGHTS

This isn’t the first time this has been talked about. This system has been spoken about for years. Its about time its introduced or at least trialled in some form.

What are your thoughts on this issue? Let us know over on Twitter, would love to hear everyone’s thoughts. Especially if you are against implementing this form of system!

Twitter – FPSAlpha