One of the key features that was promoted for Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 was the shift away from strict skill-based matchmaking. However, recent community tests indicate that the algorithm is much more aggressive in its approach than initially announced.
It was meant to be a significant change for Call of Duty multiplayer. After facing criticism for years over the opaque and often frustrating skill-based matchmaking system, the developers promised enhancements for Black Ops 7.
The introduction of “open matchmaking” with minimal consideration for player skill was supposed to set a new standard at launch. Yet, just a few weeks after the game’s release, the sentiment has shifted. A popular YouTuber has now supported this sentiment with data – and the findings do not reflect well on Activision and Treyarch’s promises.
The promise of relaxed matchmaking
To understand the community’s dissatisfaction, let’s briefly revisit the past: During the Black Ops 7 beta, Treyarch introduced a special playlist with open matchmaking. The feedback was overwhelmingly positive, leading Activision to confirm before the release that open matchmaking with “minimal skill consideration” would be the norm.
However, it is this very word, “minimal,” that is now raising doubts. Have you noticed the game becoming more challenging since its launch? You’re not alone.
A well-known Call of Duty expert and YouTuber, TheXclusiveAce, wanted to verify this. He didn’t rely on intuition but conducted a controlled experiment to determine whether connection quality takes precedence over skill.
He used two distinct accounts for the experiment:
- An account with high stats and extensive playtime, owned by an above-average player.
- A new account with extremely poor stats, typically used only for weapon testing against walls.
To minimize variables, he searched for games with both accounts at the exact same time of day in the same mode to observe how the game forms lobbies.
The findings are concerning
The data from ten matches each reveals a clear pattern. While the weaker account found matches slightly faster on average (28 seconds) than the pro account (34 seconds), the real issue lies in latency.
Out of ten cases, the weak account landed in lobbies with a ping of around 25 ms in eight instances – considered the optimal value for its location by TheXclusiveAce. However, the situation was different for the strong account. The primary account achieved this optimal value only once. The average ping here was 42 ms, with some reaching the 50s.
His conclusion: The system seems to prioritize skill over connection quality. In true “open” matchmaking, both accounts should have landed on the best servers equally often. Instead, the game seemed to accept poorer connections for the skilled account to match players of similar levels, contradicting the notion that skill should play only a “minimal” role.
The prominent Twitter account ModernWarzone reacted to the analysis with the comment: “This is concerning.”
The apparent heavier weighting of skill over connection quality has sparked bewilderment. DougDagnabbit, the owner of ModernWarzone, encapsulates the sentiment of many long-time players:
Truly disappointing outcomes.
Half of the COD community was already accusing the studios of downplaying minimal SBMM, and now it’s evident that skill is prioritized over ping in certain cases, which should never be the case.
At this point, it’s just laughable. https://t.co/tWQpXKQ3ka
— DougDagnabbit (@dougdagnabbit) November 26, 2025
Link to Twitter content
“It has been demonstrated that skill is sometimes prioritized over ping, which should never be the case… At this stage, all we can do is laugh.”
TheXclusiveAce himself acknowledges in his video that the current system feels better than in previous iterations. Nevertheless, it represents a noticeable step back from the beta phase and contradicts the official statements made before the launch.
Amidst the voices of seasoned series veterans, there is someone who offers a more pragmatic view on the situation. The user bt norris
dryly remarks, would professionals in any other competitive sport complain as much about competing against opponents of similar skill levels?
With that statement, they likely echo the sentiment of many who are tired of the drama surrounding the “tryhards” who simply want to dominate weaker players.
Please rewrite the following text so that it is more concise:
“Due to the fact that the weather conditions were extremely poor, we decided to cancel the event that was scheduled for tomorrow.”