Treyarch Pushing SBMM In Black Ops 7 Due To “Increased Engagement”

If you thought the Skill-Based Matchmaking conversation was going anywhere, you might want to boil the kettle. Not only is Treyarch adamant about having SBMM, but Black Ops 7’s playlist options will now feature SBMM modes more prominently.

The letters ‘SBMM‘ will forever be synonymous with FPS games. Skill-based matchmaking plays a huge role in modern-day matchmaking, and there was a lot of interest around Black Ops 7 after Treyarch revealed that it would feature a greater emphasis on ‘Open Matchmaking.’

Slowly but surely, the developer might be backtracking.

Black Ops 7 Season 1 Moving Standard Matchmaking To Featured

Since launch, the Standard Matchmaking playlist option—which emphasizes SBMM—has been a regular playlist option. This will change with Black Ops 7 Season 1.

The Season 1 patch notes have revealed some interesting notes on SBMM:

“We’ve continued to see increased engagement with Standard Moshpit, so we’ll be featuring it in the Featured tab for players who prefer an experience with more similarly skilled opponents. With the main tab changing to Featured, the other tab will now become Party Games, which will include Prop Hunt, Sharpshooter, One in the Chamber, and Gunfight at the launch of Season 01, as well as the debut of Sticks & Stones and Gun Game in Week 2.”

In layman’s terms, players are apparently playing modes that prioritize SBMM for matchmaking. This is more player engagement here; therefore, Treyarch is now rewarding this by adding Standard Moshpit to the featured playlist—making it a center-stage attraction.

There have been suggestions that SBMM might not be as open as advertised in Black Ops 7. This ‘Featured’ move doesn’t necessarily support this theory, but it shows that SBMM is becoming prevalent in Call of Duty once again.

Is this Treyarch u-turning on the idea of moving Black Ops 7 more toward open matchmaking? If you have thoughts on this or SBMM in general, head to the Insider Gaming Discord Server for more gaming conversations.

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