Have Black Ops 4’s servers been downgraded?

❘ Published: 2018-10-20T17:35:04

A new study shows that Black Ops 4’s servers may have been downgraded from 60Hz to 20Hz.

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The Black Ops 4 beta was as smooth as a pre-release game can get, with multiple tests confirming the game was running on dedicated servers with a 60Hz send rate from both client and server sides.

Even when the game launched on October 17, Black Ops 4’s multiplayer performance was relatively smooth. However, the following days revealed increased reports of kill-trading, unbalanced corner peeking and poor hit registration.

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According to a new study by reddit user Smcro, Black Ops 4’s multiplayer is currently running at only 20Hz from the server side, a significant downgrade from the 60Hz the game was using earlier.

Hz is a measure of how many times per second information is sent. Since Black Ops 4 runs at 60 frames per second on consoles, a 60Hz send rate from the client side (the consoles in your lobby) and the server side (the dedicated server) would mean that every frame on your screen is an accurate representation of what is happening in the match.

However a 20Hz send rate from the server side means that two out of every three frames could contain information that has not been updated from the other clients in the match, which could lead to frustrating moments like being shot from around a corner.

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It should be noted that Smcro’s test was performed on PS4 only and may not be indicative of performance on Xbox and PC.

It is also possible that the servers were only temporarily downgraded while Treyarch is fixing other bugs and figuring out how to handle launch period server stress, which also includes the incredibly taxing Blackout mode.

Call of Duty: WW2 was also 60Hz from both the client and server sides and launch period stress caused the game’s dedicated servers to temporarily go offline. They were later restored at their original performance.