Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 matchmaking to change again but what's actually different? | indy100

A screenshot of David Mason in Call of Duty Black Ops 7

Activision

Activision has announced more changes to matchmaking in Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 which is causing a bit of confusion online.

So what exactly is going to be different this time around?

A post from the official Call of Duty X / Twitter account said: "Starting this week with Season 05, we're updating Black Ops Classic, Quick Play and Party Games in Black Ops 7 with a new matchmaking system inspired by those classic games [Black Ops and Black Ops 2].

"We'll continue to offer Open playlists in Black Ops 7 and we'll also include Open playlist options in the upcoming Modern Warfare 4 Beta."

This has caused some gamers to scratch their heads - let us explain.

Modern Call of Duty titles, including Black Ops 6 as an example, had skill-based matchmaking (SBMM) lobbies and they would refresh after each round.

However Black Ops 7 changed this and lobbies are divided into Open and Standard categories. Open is where SBMM is minimally considered and Standard is for those looking for more of an experience like Black Ops 6.

The Open playlists were introduced in Black Ops 7 following a successful trial of them in its beta which went down really well with gamers.

Activision recently released PlayStation ports for Black Ops and Black Ops 2 where the lobbies for them are more open and are prioritised based on the best ping, or connection, that's available with SBMM minimally considered.

So, with Activision saying certain modes Black Ops 7 Season 05 will have lobbies like those in Black Ops and Black Ops 2, it seems connection will be prioritised over everything else with SBMM minimally considered. Lobbies are kept after each round too instead of being disbanded.

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