Treyarch Studios has officially addressed the growing doubts among players about the matchmaking system in Call of Duty: Black Ops 7. The studio maintains that the game uses an open matchmaking model that focuses on connection rather than individual player skill. This response comes after a community report presented strong data suggesting that skill-based matchmaking (SBMM) still plays a significant role in forming multiplayer lobbies. The developer had previously promised to return to the series’ traditional connection-based system after the game’s beta phase. This ongoing controversy highlights a deep distrust between players and the publisher regarding the fairness and manipulation of online matches.
For years, SBMM has sparked debate within the Call of Duty community. Fans often refer to it using the acronym. This system matches players based on their performance metrics and became standard in the franchise with the 2019 Modern Warfare reboot. It replaced the connection-first model used in earlier games like Black Ops and World at War. Many players argue that this focus on skill results in poor server connections, less enjoyable “casual” gameplay, and a frustrating experience where a few good matches are quickly followed by overly tough lobbies. In a surprising move this year, publisher Activision announced that Black Ops 7 would shift away from this strict skill-based system, choosing an open model where skill is recognized but considered a minor factor compared to latency.
Recent concerns were significantly fueled by findings from gaming content creator Xclusive Ace. He ran a controlled test using two different accounts: a high-skill main account and a deliberately low-skill “bot” account. By keeping factors like game mode, settings, and time of day the same, Ace isolated the player’s skill level as the only variable. The results showed a clear difference in network performance: while the matchmaking time was nearly the same for both accounts, the high-skill account consistently had a higher ping (about 42ms) compared to the low-skill account (about 20ms). This difference led many observers to believe that the system was delaying the search for better connections in favor of matching players based on skill ratings, which contradicts what the studio claims about open matchmaking.
After the public release of this data, Treyarch contacted the content creator to provide an official explanation. The studio firmly stated that “nothing has changed” in the matchmaking code since the open beta, and they are looking into the specific matches mentioned in the report. Treyarch suggested that the noticeable shift in lobby difficulty and connection quality likely stems from significant changes in the global player demographics and the specific playlist options now available compared to the beta environment. Nonetheless, the community remains skeptical, with many voices arguing that without full access to the raw data or complete transparency from the developer, the prevailing mood of doubt—driven by years of perceived manipulation—is unlikely to fade.
