Open matchmaking and persistent lobbies confirmed for the Black Ops 7 launch.
The open beta phase for Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 ended on Thursday, October 9, 2025, after a one-day extension due to positive feedback from players.
After the beta ended, the community had the opportunity to submit questions and share their opinions for a special Q&A session. These questions were answered in a Dev Talk with Matt Sconce, Design Director at Treyarch.
CONFIRMED for Black Ops 7 launch: Open Matchmaking, where skill is minimally considered Persistent lobbies Aim assist adjustments + more pic.twitter.com/cNFO4Z1B0d
— Treyarch (@Treyarch) October 9, 2025
During the discussion, several important changes were announced that will be implemented before the game's official release on November 14, 2025.
Goodbye SBMM
Upon release, the Black Ops 7 multiplayer will use classic matchmaking as its default system, in which player skill plays only a minimal role in matchmaking.
This is a significant shift away from the previous skill-based matchmaking (SBMM) system, which had been controversial within the community for years. The removal of SBMM was eagerly anticipated by longtime fans, many of whom had repeatedly called for a return to more traditional matchmaking.
Persistent Lobbies, Aim Assist & More
In addition to the return of classic matchmaking, Black Ops 7 will also reintroduce persistent lobbies, allowing players to remain in the same lobby with others after a match, just like in previous titles in the series.
Several gameplay adjustments are also planned for launch, including changes to the aim assist. These include a refined tuning of the rotating aim assist and a more balanced distribution of aim assist strength across all inputs.
In addition, the developers confirmed that footstep sounds will be slightly louder at launch compared to the beta, improving player awareness and overall gameplay feel.
The Community Is… Happy?
Many players have expressed their satisfaction that their feedback is finally being taken into account and that numerous changes requested by the community have found their way into Black Ops 7. The open beta was generally well received, with many praising the gameplay and the direction in which the game seems to be developing.
"Call of Duty is finally healing."
"YES thank you so much for listening to the community. We really appreciate your efforts."
"SBMM has been the COD killer."
However, not everyone is convinced – some players remain skeptical or even negative about the upcoming title, despite the implementation of long-requested features.
"Too little, too late."
"Wow them dropping sbmm shows how desperate they are."
The community itself reacted to the negative feedback on the news, emphasizing that players are still unhappy even when the game implements exactly what they wanted.
"They do what ya‘ll asked and you’re STILL complaining. The hate is so forced."
It remains to be seen whether the announced adjustments will have a noticeable impact in the final version and how positively they will be perceived once the game is released.
Will you be playing Black Ops 7? Let us know in the comments!