A former Call of Duty project director is disputing Activision’s recent claims regarding skill-based matchmaking (SBMM).
The company released long-awaited information regarding the controversial subject yesterday. Posting to the official Call of Duty blog, Activision said:
“Today’s intel is intended to kick off that dialogue and is a new beginning for what we hope will be an ongoing conversation about matchmaking, sharing our process and learnings with you to answer questions (and concerns) we’ve seen within the community.”
For years, Call of Duty fans have been desperate for more details on SBMM. It has long been blamed for inconsistent lobbies and frustrating player experiences in Warzone and multiplayer (including Modern Warfare III).
CoD fans often hearken back to the “glory days” of Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare, World at War, Modern Warfare 2, and Black Ops, holding those games up as examples of how much better multiplayer was before SBMM.
However, Activision has claimed that SBMM has actually been present, in some form, since Call of Duty 4. It said:
“Call of Duty has historically considered player performance among other factors as part of our matchmaking process. Our work in this area dates back as early as Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare (2007).”
While many on social media responded to the claim with skepticism, perhaps the most glaring criticism came from Brian Bright – a former Call of Duty project director who has previously been involved with CoD multiplayer modes.
Responding to CoD news account ModernWarzone (which tweeted Activision’s statement regarding SBMM in CoD 4), Bright simply posted a bull and a poop emoji.
The implication here is obvious – that Bright believes Activision’s claims are bulls**t.
How does SBMM work in Call of Duty?
While we recommend players take a look at Activision’s blog and form their own opinions, the company did shed some light on how “skill” is calculated in matchmaking.
Activision said: “Skill is determined based on a player’s overall performance: kills, deaths, wins, losses, and more, including mode selection, and recent matches as an overall metric across all Multiplayer experiences. This is a fluid measurement that’s consistently updating and reacting to your gameplay.”
This is reportedly done “to ensure that the disparity between the most skilled player in the lobby and the least skilled player in the lobby isn’t so vast that players feel their match is a waste of time. “
Activision also claim that data indicates that SBMM helps with player retention, explaining “that when lower skill players are consistently on the losing end, they are likely to quit matches in progress or stop playing altogether.”
Other Call of Duty matchmaking factors revealed
In addition to information about SBMM, Activision revealed seven other Call of Duty matchmaking factors. Here is the complete list:
- Connection
- Time to Match
- Skill/Performance
- Platform
- Voice Chat
- Input Device
- Recent Maps/Modes
- Playlist Diversity
The company also answered some popular questions regarding matchmaking.
Most notably, Activision stated that they run unannounced tests that remove skill as an element of matchmaking. Here’s the statement in full:
“We have run tests over the years to determine if removing skill as a consideration from matchmaking makes sense. We will continue to launch these tests periodically. To date, the data remains consistent with what we detailed above – players tend to quit matches or stop playing if they’re getting blown out, resulting in a negative overall experience for all players in the lobby and the general player population. We purposefully do not disclose when these tests occur because it may impact feedback or the data we see during these tests.”
It was also confirmed that spending money in-game does not influence how players are matched, and there are no bots in multiplayer.
Whatever you make of Activision’s blog post, it is unlikely to change the minds of jaded Call of Duty players. The belief persists that skill is the most important matchmaking factor and that it ruins the overall experience for everyone.
Whether or not the company is playing down the true nature of SBMM (as Brian Bright appears to be suggesting) remains to be seen.
What are your thoughts on the new blog post about SBMM? Do you think it ruins the in-game experience? Let us know in the comment section below and don’t forget to check out our other gaming articles.
