Activision is adding a second matchmaking system to Call of Duty: Black Ops 7, modelled on the way the original Black Ops and Black Ops II paired players. The change was announced through the official Call of Duty account on X and takes effect with Season 5.
The publisher said the decision followed a year of player data and community feedback, and pointed to renewed interest in the two older Black Ops games as part of the reasoning.
there are many elements of those experiences that players appreciate
Where the new system applies
According to the post, the Black Ops Classic, Quick Play and Party Games playlists in Black Ops 7 move to the new matchmaking system from Season 5. Open playlists, which use the current approach, remain available in Black Ops 7, and Open playlist options will also be included in the Modern Warfare 4 beta.
Activision has not published a technical breakdown of how the Classic system weights players. Dexerto notes that the older Black Ops titles placed a lighter emphasis on skill than recent Call of Duty releases, giving more weight to connection quality and producing more varied public lobbies, and that skill is still expected to play some part in the new system.
A long-running argument
Skill-based matchmaking has been one of the most persistent points of friction between Call of Duty players and Activision, with critics arguing that tightly matched lobbies make casual play feel like competition. Running two systems side by side leaves that choice with players rather than settling the argument.
The rollout also gives Activision a comparison point ahead of Modern Warfare 4. Because the beta will carry Open playlists while Black Ops 7 runs both systems, players will be able to move between the two before the next game ships, and the publisher will have a season of data from both before it decides what the next entry does by default.
Activision has not said whether the Classic system will reach other playlists in Black Ops 7, or whether it will be the standard option in Modern Warfare 4 when that game launches in full.
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