A German streamer plays Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 like John Wick and makes countless kills without dying himself. But how he does it is actually forbidden.
Who is it about? Falaxii, who is a Twitch streamer and YouTuber, is considered one of the best German CoD players and impresses with strong gameplay.
- Falaxii has an average of over 400 viewers on Twitch. His videos on YouTube reach between 10,000 and 30,000 views.
- In his streams and videos, Falaxii primarily showcases Call of Duty, most recently the new Black Ops 6.
- In Black Ops 6, Falaxii consistently achieves rounds that most players can only dream of – for example, 100 kills in a row without dying or 4 nukes in a round (via YouTube).
However, there is a catch: Falaxii uses a forbidden “trick” while playing.
Streamers manipulate matchmaking
What does the streamer do? Falaxii plays like many other content creators around the world with a so-called “nephew account.” This is an account on which very poorly is intentionally played so that the skill-based matchmaking (SBMM) classifies him as a bad player and builds the lobby accordingly.
The principle behind it is called reverse-boosting and is seen by Activision as a violation of the guidelines. Players can be suspended for this (via activision.com).
When you search for a match with such an account, the rating of the nephew account is taken into account when creating a lobby. You will then get opponents whose skill is assessed somewhere between that of the nephew account and yours.
In these mixed lobbies, good players may be present, but there may also be a round in which every opponent is much worse. In such lobbies, Falaxii can then achieve spectacular rounds in which he dominates his opponents like John Wick.
Not an isolated case, but still forbidden
Is Falaxii an isolated case? No! This article specifically focuses on Falaxii, but reverse-boosting is used worldwide by many YouTubers and streamers. We take Falaxii as an example because he illustrates the controversy surrounding “nephew accounts” in his videos by being significantly better than his opponents.
Why is this forbidden? With reverse-boosting, the matchmaking is manipulated. This means you play against players you normally wouldn’t play against – because they are noticeably worse than you.
For a worse player, playing against a player like Falaxii can feel very unfair – after all, they have no chance and will likely lose every gunfight mercilessly. The SBMM protects these players from this “bad” gaming experience.
“In your lobbies, everyone can do this”
Can anyone really do this? No. Of course, lobbies become easier and less “sweaty” through reverse-boosting, but achieving 100 kills without dying would still likely be beyond the reach of most players.
For example, in one video (via YouTube), Falaxii let a viewer play along who wrote that everyone could do it in their lobbies. The streamer then consistently achieved about 100 kills more than the viewer, who barely finished the match with a positive K/D. So not everyone could.
How should this all be assessed? Critically. Primarily, it is a violation of the guidelines that can potentially take away the fun of the game from other players. This does not change, even if the videos or streams are entertaining and the player showcases impressive skills.
Ultimately, Activision is responsible here – but not to punish players. That would only address the symptom, not the problem. Reverse-boosting is a direct consequence of the much-criticized SBMM.
Many players wish to have the matchmaking of the past back, before SBMM existed. To have a comparable gaming experience, they resort to “nephew accounts.” A similar account is also used by the recently banned YouTuber Haptic: German YouTuber gets banned in CoD: Black Ops 6, says his buddy is to blame
