Esports Athletes and Streamers Say Activision Lied About SBMM in Black Ops 7

The shooter’s developers promised open playlists and a beta-like experience.

Many well-known streamers and esports competitors claim Activision misled players about SBMM in Black Ops 7. Fans were initially promised two playlist options for the new Call of Duty: a standard matchmaking system that factors in multiple metrics when forming lobbies (player level, ping, win–loss ratio), and a classic playlist that relied mostly on ping — the mode featured in the beta.

Professionals say the classic mode is either missing or effectively nonfunctional. Swagg, Colt, Xclusive Ace, and JoeWo report repeatedly being placed in punishing lobbies, despite expectations that they would at least sometimes be matched with newer players.

Some have speculated that the game simply cannot put together calmer lobbies because newcomers, after enduring several losses in a row, opt back into classic SBMM where they stand a better chance.

Source: iXBT.games