Call of Duty servers crumble - reportedly taking out SBMM

Call of Duty's servers have collapsed, leaving both Warzone and Modern Warfare 3 in a heap of trouble. Reports have been flooding in about Call of Duty HQ facing severe difficulties, with anyone trying to get in some action before the weekend being met with matchmaking issues.

Ranked play has reportedly completely shut down, while casual playlists have become a free-for-all for anyone who can access them. But the most damaging issue that's appeared is that of the unpopular Skill-Based Matchmaking system that CoD deploys, which appears now to be fully offline.

MW3 servers crash and SBMM appears to be disabled

SBMM is the beating stick of the Call of Duty community, serving as both a crutch for those higher-quality players who are met with sweat-fests and a haven for lower-skilled players who need a lot of protection. 

But, as of February 23, SBMM is reportedly disabled amid the server crisis, allowing players of all skill ratings to get in a moshpit in both the battle royale and multiplayer. 

There has been no official confirmation of SBMM's removal, but a variety of players have taken to social media to claim that the system is currently defunct.

More evidential problems have arisen too, as players are all being reset to Level 1, player progression figures are not tracking (K/D and weapon challenges), Blueprints are all being wiped off, Gunsmith is broken, and Warzone players are being placed into tutorials as if they have never played the game before.

Call of Duty players are already enjoying life without SBMM

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In the midst of the server malfunction, Call of Duty has been stripped back to just basic gunplay, with only the core experience being available with default weapons, and it seems fans are already loving it.

"Playing Warzone without SBMM is insanely good. Most varied game I’ve played in literal years," said one player. Another added, "No Unrealistic skins, no gunsmith, no camo grind, no progression grind, no SBMM. Call of Duty, just as god intended it."

Given that the problems with Warzone and MW3 have wiped out any bundles and store purchases, it will likely be an issue on the radar for Activision and Microsoft to fix as soon as possible. However, some fans want "SBMM to stay broken," at least for the weekend.