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Activision ordered the creators of SBMMWarzone.com to shut down the website by Monday.
The Belgium-based co-creators of SBMM Warzone said lawyers representing Activision sent a cease and desist request demanding the website be shut down, citing privacy concerns.
In this letter, which Eurogamer verified, lawyers claim SBMM Warzone violates Activision API terms of service, violates Activision copyright, violates computer fraud and abuse law and exposes the creators of SBMM Warzone to fines under GDPR. The letter goes on to say that SBMM Warzone is to be shut down within seven days of its receipt on March 22. We reached out to Activision for comment.
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SBMM Warzone uses the Call of Duty API to get player data and then provide useful stats to players. Importantly, it organizes Warzone lobbies into skill-based ranks, which players use to determine the overall skill of a lobby they just played in. Instead of an official Warzone ranking system, players flocked to SBMM Warzone in an effort to gain a better understanding of Call of Duty’s mysterious skill-based matchmaking system.
One of the website’s creators, Ben, told Eurogamer he understands Activision’s concern. “When we get their data through their API, they don’t control it anymore,” Ben said.
Ben explained that in order for SBMM Warzone to get this data, the player must have their profile set to public and know their BattleNet, PSN, or Xbox username. The website then gets the eliminations, deaths, number of wins, and other stats, such as a list of the player’s matches and a match detail. “We’re not getting anything sensitive,” Ben insisted, “and only public actors.”
It has been suggested that Activision takes issue with SBMM Warzone monetizing this player’s data through its website. SBMM Warzone runs ads and sells a premium membership of between $ 4 and $ 6, which unlocks additional data such as the progress of the last 100 games and the Gulag win rate over time.
Ben insisted that this monetization had nothing to do with Activision’s complaint. “Some people mention this on Twitter, but I don’t know why they’re saying this because it’s not true, or where they’re getting this information from.
“It was clear the lawyers were talking about the privacy issue. It’s also funny that people mention that because we still have to pay for our servers and everything.”
Ben said refunds will be available if and when the website goes down.
Ben is now desperate to work with Activision to achieve partner status for SBMM Warzone. Some similar third-party websites, such as tracker.gg, are official Activision partners and remain unharmed. Ben said he was ready to polish SBMM Warzone and the way it does business to become a partner.
“What we are asking them is just to discuss with us how we might become partners and what we should change to comply.
“We’re open to rebranding (changing our name), changing some features and paying a commission for using their API, but for that we still have to contact each other.”
Ben said he had tried to get in touch with Activision, but had yet to receive a response. “This is what saddens me the most,” he said. “We want to be able to talk to them. We think we can do a lot more for this community.”
SBMM Warzone began life at the end of 2020 and quickly established itself in the Battle Royale community, so it’s no surprise to see this community come back to Ben as he desperately tries to save his site. Web.
High-profile Warzone players have expressed their support on social media, and the SBMM Warzone website itself has issued a call to arms.
Sorry to see this happen, your site is a great asset, especially since no ranking system yet exists for Warzone. I intend to let Activision know.
– Vikkstar? (@ Vikkstar123) March 26, 2021
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It sucks. You were providing excellent service. Unfortunately, if you had received letters from ATVI’s legal team, it is unlikely that anyone could speak to you. The bottom-up response will be “we can’t comment, talk to the lawyers” and that’s it?
– Drift0r (@ Drift0r) March 26, 2021
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It’s unclear if Activision will listen – and if it doesn’t before Monday, SBMM Warzone will shut down.
“Our main goal is to become partners,” Ben said, “and we still believe we can come to a deal with Activision. We don’t want to fight them, we are friendly allies.
“If that is not possible, we will have to close, yes … unfortunately.”
SBMM has been a hot topic in the Call of Duty community for quite some time now, and some stat tracking websites have been forced to change the way they work after players have used them to cheat the system.
In January, Eurogamer reported on the developer of a controversial third-party app Warzone that lets you see your lobby’s K / D ratio before a match starts.
Warzone – as well as Infinity Ward’s Modern Warfare and Treyarch’s Black Ops Cold War – have all been criticized for the impact of SBMM, which sparked a craze for “reverse-boosting” – that is, dying. on purpose in order to negatively impact your K / D and, in turn, end up in less skilled lobbies.
Some have suggested that Activision has targeted SBMM Warzone because of the lobby ranking system it provides and the information it offers about SBMM under the hood of the game.
Ben, however, said he truly believed Activision’s complaint was about privacy: “But anyway, whether it’s privacy, SBMM itself (or any content on our website ) or monetization, there is a way to find common ground. “
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