'Best Call of Duty ever': Black Ops 7 beta makes series u-turn gamers can't get enough of

Activision has allowed a huge change in the Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 beta fans have wanted for years - and it's going down incredibly well, with some saying BO7 is already the "best Call of Duty ever".

SBMM (skill based matchmaking) has been in Call of Duty titles ever since the original Modern Warfare game released back in 2007, Activision has previously confirmed, but its presence has been stronger and more noticeable than ever in more recent titles.

The gripes the community has with too much of a focus being put on SBMM is that it makes teams a bit too evenly matched, making games closer but reducing the chaotic nature of them, the ability to get insane scorestreaks or pitting yourself against better players.

Activision seemed reluctant to alter this for a number of years despite loads of players clamouring for it.

But a u-turn on this stance seems to have been made in an update for the Black Ops 7 beta, with developer Treyarch introducing a new Open Mosphit playlist where "skill consideration is drastically reduced".

Patch notes for the update said: "We're engaging with the community discussion about matchmaking and will be making some updates to our playlist plans.

"We'll have two playlists available: Moshpit and a new option - Open Moshpit.

"In Open Moshpit, skill consideration is drastically reduced when matchmaking, with the goal of providing more varied match experiences and outcomes.

"This playlist will match players with and against players of more varied skill differences than in the current Multiplayer matchmaking system."

And after being hands on with it, a number of gamers and streamers on X / Twitter have shared how impressed they've been with their experience playing Open Moshpit so far.

Lionxo said: "Blacks Ops 7 just removed SBMM, so everyone has the same bot lobbies now. Aim Assist and Movement are both perfect. We finally have a skill gap. This is 100 per cent the best Call of Duty ever made."

FaZe Scope agreed: "This NO SBMM playlist is so unbelievably goated I can't believe it. Matching into lobbies 5x faster and the variety of players I'm seeing is very noticeable. People are just vibing 😂"

arzn said: "Black Ops 7 now has no SBMM and a huge skill gap. This is already the BEST COD ever made. WE'RE SO F****** BACK 👑"

Scump, Nadeshot and Octane reacted favourably to Open Moshpit too.

@charlieINTEL, an account run by someone understood to be a Call of Duty insider, said: "Genuinely hope Activision keeps this in for launch."

JGOD posted the famous Vince McMahon meme with the caption: "HOW IT FEELS TO HAVE NO SBMM IN PUBLIC MATCHES IN CALL OF DUTY."

MrDalekJD said: "Treyarch have actually changed SBMM in the beta... I've never seen feedback be implemented this fast before lmao genuinely great to see."

And @ModernWarzone, which primarily covers first-person shooters and other gaming news, said: "First two games of the no SBMM playlist in Black Ops 7 were a lot of fun with varied skill. First game was much lower skill overall so went for a long streak to see if I could get a nuke, second game had two-to-three good players on other team but it never felt too sweaty. How it should be!"

However some think this new playlist has only been included because of the strong reaction so far to Battlefield 6.

Kalei said: "Wow all it took was another huge anticipated FPS game for Call of Duty to reconsider how terrible their SBMM is ruining the game LMAO."

And SoaR Zelta agreed: "Reminder that people have complained about SBMM for the whole of the six years since it got properly implemented, Activision hasn't suddenly decided to start listening to us, they're doing it out of pure fear from the competition Battlefield 6 has bought."

The Open Moshpit is currently only included in the beta and it's not known if it will carry over into the full game.

The beta is currently in early access to those who have preordered the game or who have a code until 5 October. From 6pm BST / 1pm ET / 10am PT on that same date until 8 October, the beta will become open and more widely available.

Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 releases on 14 November on PS5, PS4, Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One and PC.

Elsewhere from indy100:

• Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 already faces calls for new overpowered feature to be binned
• Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 dev addresses hugely controversial skins

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