"It's time to lower SBMM": NadeShot expresses frustration with Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War

Matthew "Nadeshot" Haag, CEO of 100 Thieves has made his disappointment with the skill-based matchmaking system (SBMM) in Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War clear.

After prominent figures in the Call of Duty community like Scump, Censor, and TimTheTatman expressed their opinion about SBMM in Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War, Nadeshot recently revealed that he feels "as if Call of Duty doesn't have enough faith in the people playing their game."

Skill-based matchmaking is a system of pitting players from a similar skill level against each other in a match. While implemented to create a better new-player experience, SBMM has been receiving a lot of backlash from the community.

SBMM in Black Ops Cold War is so strong, that not a single pro player on my friends list has a 2.0 KD pic.twitter.com/OyGuZmRGeZ

— Censor (@Censor) November 16, 2020

SBMM does not belong in Call of Duty. There should be a ranked playlist for people to sweat in. I’m not trying to play Scuf wielding game fuel chugging demons with szn in their psn on Miami TDM. Also, to the noobies that are gonna cry about this tweet, hold this choppy gunny.

— OpTic Scump (@scump) September 19, 2020

Here's what Nadeshot had to say about skill-based matchmaking in Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War.

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Nadeshot's reaction to SBMM in Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War

After weeks of debate regarding the skill-based matchmaking system in Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War, it is safe to say that a large part of the community believes that SBMM is a major factor for ruining casual gameplay. Players have complained about the stress caused during a game as well as the lack of fun owing to an over-competitive environment.

Call of Duty has created a hardcore True Skill system on the back end without any upside for players. I don’t mind playing against people that are similar to me in skill, but at least tell me where I stand in comparison to others globally. Give me a rank that reflects my skill.

— 100T Nadeshot (@Nadeshot) November 15, 2020

However, Nadeshot, a former professional player, suggested that SBMM could be the sole reason behind driving content creators away from the game. He also suggested that if SBMM is going to be a part of Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War in the future, then Treyarch should introduce global leaderboards with in-game ranks for players to know where they stand according to their skills.

I get how it can benefit new or casual players but I feel as if Call of Duty doesn’t have enough faith in the people playing their game. People are inherently competitive and if they are told that there is a higher ceiling of skill, they’d want to strive to hit that ceiling.

— 100T Nadeshot (@Nadeshot) November 15, 2020

While SBMM's main defenses against these complaints have been the new-player experience and saving low-skill players from getting thrashed in high-skill lobbies, Nadeshot made sure to address the issue.

The former Call of Duty professional feels that people are "inherently competitive" and that they would want to reach a higher skill level once they are made aware of it.

With multiple weeks gone since the debate over SBMM first came to light, it seems like Treyarch is, for now, going to be keeping skill-based matchmaking in Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War.