A Black Ops 7 developer has addressed accusations that the game’s skill-based matchmaking (SBMM) was secretly increased over the holiday season to shield new players.

The term “Christmas noobs” refers to players who received the game as a gift and are jumping in for the first time. Historically, these newcomers were easy targets for long-time players, turning “stomping Christmas noobs” into a long-running joke within the Call of Duty community.

That trend largely disappeared with Modern Warfare (2019), which introduced much stricter SBMM. Under that system, brand-new players were rarely placed in matches with experienced ones, significantly reducing the skill gap in lobbies.

Black Ops 7, however, brought back Open playlists, where player skill is only lightly factored into matchmaking. This made it possible once again for veterans to encounter newer players. Treyarch even leaned into the tradition, displaying an in-game message welcoming new players and suggesting they practice in the Firing Range.

Developer denies SBMM changes during Christmas

Despite this, some players claimed SBMM had been ramped up during the festive period to protect newcomers. One such accusation came from X user xFleXy_ on December 26, who wrote:
“They have cranked the ever living f**k out of sbmm for the Christmas noobs lmaooo. I’ve been finding nothing but master prestige players in every lobby.”

That claim was quickly shut down by Treyarch Design Director Matt Scronce, who replied simply: “No they haven’t.”

This isn’t the first time Black Ops 7’s lighter SBMM approach has been questioned. At launch, several streamers argued that matchmaking felt just as strict as previous titles. Activision later clarified that skill is only minimally considered in Quick Play and all Open playlists, while the more competitive “Standard” modes use the tighter SBMM system.

Ahead of Season 1, Treyarch also revealed that Standard Moshpit had seen increased engagement, suggesting that a growing number of players were actively choosing the stricter matchmaking option during the game’s early weeks.