The Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 early access beta has officially reached Day 3, and Treyarch continues to shake things up with a major change to matchmaking. The studio introduced a new Open Moshpit playlist featuring drastically reduced Skill-Based Matchmaking (SBMM) — giving players a more classic experience that many fans have been asking for.
New Open Moshpit Playlist Brings Classic Matchmaking
Once players log into the Day 3 update, they’ll find the Open Moshpit playlist available in rotation. This new playlist includes four maps and six modes, offering a mix of Team Deathmatch, Kill Confirmed, Domination, Hardpoint, and Overload.
Unlike standard matchmaking, skill consideration in Open Moshpit is heavily reduced, allowing players to experience the more chaotic and casual matchmaking style seen in older Call of Duty titles. Treyarch has stated that this change is meant to gather valuable data and player feedback to help refine the overall multiplayer experience before launch.
Treyarch’s Ongoing Beta Updates
Since the early access beta launched on October 2, Treyarch has maintained steady communication with the community. Over the past few days, the developer has adjusted time-to-kill (TTK), improved weapon XP gain, and rolled out new Zombies Survival content. To keep things engaging, Treyarch has also activated double XP and double weapon XP, giving players more incentive to test different loadouts and progress faster.
The SBMM Debate Continues
SBMM has been one of the most divisive systems in the Call of Duty community. Designed to balance matches by pairing players of similar skill levels, it ensures competitive consistency but often removes the casual fun many players crave. According to Charlie Olson, the developer behind Call of Duty’s Matchmaking Rating (MMR) system, SBMM is “essential for long-term engagement,” but many fans still argue it ruins the series’ classic gameplay flow.
The Open Moshpit playlist marks a notable experiment from Treyarch — one that could influence how matchmaking is handled in the full release of Call of Duty: Black Ops 7.
Community Reaction and What’s Next
The Day 3 announcement has been met with overwhelmingly positive feedback, with many players declaring, “Call of Duty is back.” Fans have also noticed subtle teasers hinting that Vertigo, a fan-favorite map from Black Ops 2, might join Meltdown and Yemen as potential remastered maps for post-launch content.
However, not everything has been addressed. The Gravemaker scorestreak — a powerful sniper streak that grants players vision through cover — has raised balance concerns due to its apparent “wallhack” effect. With the open beta launching on October 5, players are hoping Treyarch tones it down before it becomes available to the wider public.
As the beta continues, all eyes are on Treyarch to see how these experimental changes shape the future of Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 and whether this return to looser matchmaking could become a permanent feature.
