Treyarch’s decision to change the Season 01 playlists in Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 has been one of the biggest steps the studio has taken towards fulfilling the community’s wishes. The community’s reaction, however, has not been very kind. The studio has introduced a lot of new ways to enjoy the game, such as the Season 01 Moshpit with the new maps Utopia and Standoff, and the revival of some classic modes such as Prop Hunt and One in the Chamber. Zombies have new modes for both Astra Malorum and the spooky Ashes of the Damned. It seems like this is a universally accepted topic, right? But if one quickly checks the replies to the announcement tweet, he will encounter a strong and negative attitude that has nothing to do with the new playlists. It definitely expresses a mood.
The update represents a big experiment and is probably the first of its kind Season 1. Along with it come new maps and modes in the rotation. There will also be a dedicated Season 01 Moshpit for Multiplayer to grind the new stuff, Face Off, and a Party Games playlist that sounds really fun to play with. Zombies players could pick from Standard, Directed, Survival, and even the Cursed variant. In addition, Dead Ops Arcade is back for the hardcore fans. This is definitely a content drop that is worth celebrating. But instead of that, the talk has been taken over by a few recurring and very loud complaints from the player base that are hard to ignore. It’s like going to a party with a fantastic playlist, but the air conditioning is broken, and the drinks are warm.
The most critical problem surfaced quickly. More specifically, it is the skill-based matchmaking (SBMM) which has become the bane of every COD launch and Black Ops 6 has to put up with it as well. There are numerous responses that simply and aggressively are demanding Treyarch to “revert sbmm to beta” or “get rid of it altogether, please.” One player by the username @zEiiiZy made a sneaky observation: “You’ve installed the SBMM playlist as the first playlist above all open playlists.” He was referring to the “Standard” matchmaking smothering SBMM, being more highlighted than the “Open” option which has no SBMM. Gamers have interpreted this as a calculated and underhanded move to direct people into intense matches. @ZaeHoF was literally begging him “Please put Open Matchmaking options above standard.” There is no doubt that the promise of “open” matchmaking was a great attraction for a large part of the audience, and now that the game has been released, they feel it is being buried. @TheWiseJanitor_ called it a “rug pull”, accusing Treyarch of luring players with that feature, and then diminishing its importance.
But SBMM is not the only problem. The complaints are piling up like corpses on Nuketown. For example, @Raffertyy_ noted, “Removed HC Nuketown 24/7 and kept Core Nuketown 24/7” and there were other complaints about lost content. @M_Djz00 is one of them who is wondering why Blackheart was no longer part of Face Off. Technical problems are also a significant issue. @Noticer1788 was livid: “Dogshit update, zombies got nerfs, while we have hackers, stability issues, framerate drops, PACKET BURST, and all the rest ongoing issues.” @SF230911 had a common issue: “That’s nice, if only the update would download 😂.” The situation is a real mess.
Also, there is the whole vibe dynamic change. Some gamers are accusing Treyarch of only considering the opinions of the wrong ones. @ItsErkk_ went on a long rant saying, “I wish you didn’t listen to a SMALL group of people complaining about ‘realism’ in cod.. Today’s update woulda been the best ever if you included all the BO6 stuff like originally planned.” This implies that the actual game has been somewhat altered during the launch process and the players are left with the impression that the game they were sold is not the same one they got. @Marcin_ek1981 said, “This really was a complete mess. Plus, they reduced the AA. Just watch how the game will lose players every day.” The sentiment among that part of the gaming community is definitely one of despair.
Amidst all the negativity, one can still spot every now and then occasional happy incidents. For example, @MacS1ms is fully in support of the Party Games mode, that it should be a permanent feature which is quite an endorsement of that playlist. Besides, @_WakeChapters is just throwing the very important question: “Where da the snipers at tho? 👀”. Yet, these positive or neutral comments are swamped by the criticism that gamers are voicing on social platforms like X.
