Call of Duty: Modern Warfare is coming to PC, and players on all consoles will be able to face off against each other thanks to cross play. Cross play is now a heavily requested feature in many multiplayer games, but when it comes to genres like first person shooters where precision is key, balance between players on different platforms is often a cause for concern. During a recent interview with Multiplayer Design Director Joe Cecot, DualShockers asked about just that, and he revealed the exactly what steps Infinity Ward and Beenox are taking to ensure those playing Call of Duty: Modern Warfare PC will not have an unfair advantage.

First off, those using a keyboard and mouse will be sectioned off in their own lobby that those using a controller must opt-in to. Joe Cecot called it "matchmaking by peripheral" while he also stated that "we also don’t let you change your controller or peripheral mid-match, so once you’ve chosen it, it’s locked in." On a surface level with lobbies, this should ensure that players know what they are getting into when facing PC players. That being said, Beenox is also taking steps to ensure that there are not many technical advantages for those facing console players on PC.

"We have worked really closely with Beenox, who's done a lot of our PC stuff, and we looked at everything from use times to interactions to 'on PC this is a press and on console this is a hold.' As much as we can, we try to make sure that it's fair," Cecot explained before delving into one internal test that yielded interesting results. "Then, we test internally. One of the first [tournaments] we did was around the time of E3...A group of these really talented PC players won the first tournament and then a couple console players won the console tournament. Then, we had a grudge match to see who was the best, and the console players actually beat them out. They used strategy, they had a little bit of aim assist, and they were able to beat [the PC players]."

While Joe Cecot made it clear that the developers are ensuring that PC players do not have any radically unfair advantages, he used the example tournament above to explain that the dynamic between PC and console players with Call of Duty is a bit different than some think. "It's interesting, it's something that we are always studying and something we find is that the really high end PC players right now can trump a console player, but as soon as you step down a little bit, the console players actually statistically start to beat out the PC players."

In terms of balance between platforms, Joe Cecot believes that "we're going to be okay there" once Call of Duty: Modern Warfare lands on PC, PS4, and Xbox One come October 25, 2019.