Summary
TheCall of Dutydeveloper who created the game’s Matchmaking Rating (MMR) system explained why the franchise will not get rid of skill-based matchmaking. Skill-based matchmaking, often abbreviated as SBMM, has been a contentious topic in theCall of Dutycommunity for many years now, and debates haven’t stopped duringCall of Duty: Black Ops 6Season 2.
SBMM is a matchmaking system inCall of Dutythat uses players' skills and statistics to group them in lobbies with opponents that have similar characteristics. The system is designed to protect new players while giving more experienced players a fair and competitive online experience. However, manyCall of Dutyfans have argued for years that SBMM has its flaws and can be damaging to the community over time, since it favors newcomers and puts less weight on players' network connections during the matchmaking process.
In anInsider Gaminginterview, former Raven Software developer and MMR algorithm creator Charlie Olson explained that SBMM will never be removed and explained why it’s necessary forCall of Duty. According to Olson, SBMM and MMR are essential to promoting long-term sustainability andplayer engagement forCall of Duty. SBMM ensures players aren’t the weak link to their teams repeatedly, and “high-skill players don’t like carrying a team of potatoes all the time,” Olson said. Although SBMM will likely never go away, Olson understands the community’s complaints and believes there should be some changes to it, since the matchmaking system “takes away a sense of skill and mastery” from players. Olson explains that SBMM in its current form has a serious design problem due to the lack of skill feedback and its tendency to punish skilled players by continuously matching them with strong opponents.
Former Raven Software Developer Charlie Olson Reveals Why Call of Duty Won’t Get Rid of SBMM
Olson suggested some improvements to SBMM forCall of Duty, such as the ability to see the average skill of opponents in lobbies and incentivize players by offering XP multipliers for facing strong opponents. TheformerCall of Dutydeveloperbelieves players shouldn’t need to file a personal data request with Activision to see their MMR ratings, either. Since a player’s MMR rating fluctuates based on performance, it could benefit players to observe how their ratings change directly in the game.
Olson attempted to pitch updated SBMM and MMR systems forCall of Dutymultiple times, including a meeting at Infinity Ward during development of2019’sCall of Duty: Modern Warfare. Pitches like these are an “uphill battle” outside of ideas from the main studio, and Olson reveals that the ideas to improve MMR never caught on since most designers don’t know much about how the system works. Although Olson’s pitches and ideas didn’t turn into actual changes, he believes that players have the right to complain about SBMM in its current state.
