Does Black Ops 6 Have SBMM? CoD Skill-Based Matchmaking Explained

If you have played Call of duty Over the past five years, and in many other multiplayer games, you’ve probably heard and talked endlessly about skill-based matchmaking (SBMM).

According to Activision, skill is one of the factors that plays into the matchmaking formula for multiplayer, along with things like input device, internet connection, recently played maps or modes, platform, and more.

Naturally, players are wondering if SBMM has been carried over into Treyarch’s latest effort, as it has been a consistent feature in Cod for several years. Add to that the fact that Activision has been secretive about it for most of those years, and it’s likely to remain a controversial topic for quite some time.

What is SBMM in CoD?

Skills-based matchmaking in Cod is an algorithm that matches players in multiplayer games based on their established skill level, which is determined by “how well a player is expected to perform relative to the rest of the population in a given game mode, based on their previously observed performance.”

For years, players described SBMM as a system that forced people to play against players of a similar skill level, making the game more competitive or “sweaty” and making the experience unpleasant for a very vocal minority.

Activision’s 25-page report on SBMM’s findings and implementation methods is packed with detailed information, but in short, it answers our very valuable question at this time.

Is there SBMM in Black Ops 6?

Yes, Activision will continue to use SBMM in Black Ops 6and probably all the others CoD’s in the future because the company believes it improves the player experience for the majority of players within the community.

In July 2024, Activision published the above report, detailing its findings around skill-based matchmaking. It concluded that relaxing “the restrictions on skill in matchmaking” in early tests made the game worse for the player base overall, as measured by player abandonment, dropout, and other factors.

This was discovered in a test that Activision secretly conducted in early 2024, in which half of the players in North America were placed into their own custom version of the game’s matchmaking algorithm with a “lower SBMM.” It was even found that only the top 10 percent of players had a positive experience.