Whether you can turn crossplay off in Black Ops 6 depends entirely on where you bought the game — and the answer is more generous on some platforms, and stricter on others, than most guides say.
Here is what Activision’s own support documentation states, platform by platform.
Quick answer
- Consoles: yes — and for ranked modes too, not just casual.
- Steam and Battle.net: no. Activision rules it out by name.
- Xbox PC app / Microsoft Store: yes, but only outside the game.
- On Xbox consoles two settings exist, and the console one overrides the in-game one.
- There is a middle option — console-only matchmaking — that most guides skip.
The Platform Split Is the Whole Answer
Crossplay is not a single switch in Black Ops 6. Activision documents different rules for different storefronts, and the clearest statement is the restriction: “Crossplay cannot be disabled when playing on Steam or Battle.net.”
That is unambiguous, and it is the line worth checking your storefront against before you go looking for a setting that is not there.
For consoles, the position is the opposite — and broader than commonly described: “console players can adjust crossplay settings for both Multiplayer Unranked and Ranked gameplay and Warzone Ranked gameplay”.
Note what that includes. Ranked play is covered, not excluded.
On Consoles: Three Separate Settings
Activision lists Multiplayer Unranked Crossplay, Multiplayer Ranked Crossplay and Warzone Ranked Crossplay as distinct settings. They live in the same place — “Navigate to Settings and select Account & Network” from the Options menu — but each is set on its own.
Each one offers three states rather than a simple on and off:
- ON — matchmaking with other gaming platforms.
- ON (CONSOLE ONLY) — “ON (CONSOLE ONLY): Allow matchmaking with other console gaming platforms”.
- OFF — “OFF: Multiplayer Unranked matchmaking only uses your current gaming platform”.
The middle state is the one most write-ups leave out, and it is the one most players who dislike facing mouse-and-keyboard opponents actually want: still crossplay, but console against console.
Activision Tells You What It Costs
Worth knowing before you change anything. Against both the console-only and the off settings, Activision prints the same warning: “Will negatively impact matchmaking quality”.
Narrowing the pool means longer queues or looser skill matching. That is a trade, not a free win, and the vendor says so plainly rather than leaving you to discover it.
On Xbox, Two Settings Exist — and One Overrides the Other
This is the detail that causes “I turned it off and it did not work”. Activision states that “Players on Xbox consoles can adjust crossplay options through in-game settings or through the console settings” — and then resolves the conflict between them: “console settings will take priority over in-game settings”.
So if the in-game toggle appears to do nothing on Xbox, the console-level privacy setting is the one deciding, and that is where to look.
The Xbox PC App Is the Exception Among PC Storefronts
Here is where the common advice breaks down. Activision documents that “Microsoft Store and Xbox PC app can adjust global crossplay settings from within the Xbox PC app” settings.
The catch is where, not whether: “Players on Microsoft Store/Xbox PC app do not have access to in-game crossplay settings”. The control is in the Xbox app’s own account privacy settings, under the cross-network play option — not in Black Ops 6 itself.
So “PC” is not one answer. Steam and Battle.net are ruled out by name; the Microsoft route is not.
Why You Will See the Opposite Claim
Worth saying directly, because it is easy to find contradictory advice.
Checking the pages ranking for this question on 26 September 2026, one of them — TheGamer — states that PC players have no option to disable crossplay at all. Activision’s own support article says Microsoft Store and Xbox PC app players can change it from the Xbox app. Two other pages we tried, at GameSpot and Dot Esports, blocked our request and we could not read them, so we are not characterising those.
That is our own dated check of the pages we could actually open, not a claim about every guide on the subject. Where they disagree with the publisher’s documentation, the documentation is the one to follow.
Crossplay Is Also What Carries Your Progress
One reason to think twice before switching it off everywhere. Activision ties progression to the same system: “your progression in Black Ops 6 will carry over across all platforms linked to the same Activision account”.
That linkage exists because “the game requires players to log in to an Activision account” — the account is what identifies you across platforms.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I turn off crossplay on Steam?
No. Activision states that crossplay cannot be disabled when playing on Steam or Battle.net.
Can I disable crossplay in Ranked?
On consoles, yes. Activision documents Multiplayer Ranked Crossplay and Warzone Ranked Crossplay as settings you can adjust, alongside the unranked one.
I turned it off on Xbox and nothing changed. Why?
Check the console-level setting. Activision says the console settings take priority over the in-game ones.
Is there an option between on and off?
Yes — console-only matchmaking, which allows matchmaking with other console platforms while excluding the rest.
Does turning it off make matchmaking worse?
Activision says it will negatively impact matchmaking quality, because you are matching from a smaller pool.
More Call of Duty troubleshooting: why Warzone feels laggy and what Activision recommends, fixing Warzone voice chat on PC, and everything confirmed about Modern Warfare 4.
Published 26 September 2026. Every platform rule here is quoted from Activision’s own support article rather than collected from community guides; where other pages disagree, we say which ones we checked and when. Accurate as of 26 September 2026.
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