Call of Duty stat-tracking sites are having a bad time at the moment. Activision has made changes to the API that no longer allows these SBMM-altering sites to properly function. There is a way to bypass Activision's precautions though.
SBMM (Skill-Based Matchmaking) has always been a hotly debated topic in Call of Duty. The system is supposed to ensure that players in online lobbies are matched with similarly strong players. This is to prevent beginners from being completely destroyed by highly skilled players. The goal is to create as balanced a gaming experience as possible. Sounds good at first.
Good players and professionals in particular really hate SBMM because they are always matched against other very good players or professionals and thus have no chance to play a relaxing game after work where they pawn the newbs. While it can sound like th most first world problem ever, within their context, we can see where the annoyance comes from.
Activision don't provide any information on which parameters are used to determine who you play against, but that can't stop the determined ones.
SBMM Warzone and Other Stat-Trackers
Like most well-intended practices, SBMM backfired and led to so-called reverse boosting: players repeatedly killing themselves in order to lower their stats and get into easier lobbies. That saw the rise of various third-party stat tracker sites, especially for Warzone.
These sites show the K/D ratio of the entire lobby, which allowed for cherry-picking until a lobby of low enough skill level is found. Activision did not like that.
Activision Change API
Publisher Activision reacted to the exploitation of these sites and apps by changing the API and setting the stats of all players to private. This means that third-party sites are no longer able to access players' stats. As a result, stat tracker sites like SBMM Warzone remain empty and apps are no longer particularly helpful.
How to Get Around Defenses
There's always a way to play the system. Log into your Call of Duty account, go to your profile and click on "Linked accounts". Then set the options "searchable" and "data visible" to "all". This allows third-party sites to access your data again.
Voila! Back to playing 10-year-old children again.
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Original article by EarlyGame's Lukas Ballat.
