As a long-time Call of Duty fan and player, I’ve experienced both the excitement of competitive matches and the frustration of unbalanced ones. The recent white paper released by Activision regarding their skill-based matchmaking (SBMM) system in Call of Duty piqued my interest, especially since it promised more transparency on this controversial topic.
Activison has published an extensive article describing the inner workings of Call of Duty’s debated skill-based matchmaking feature for the first time since their initial announcement in November. This blog post marks a significant step towards increased “clarity” on the topic.
The company emphasized that striking an optimal team composition, or “balancing the teams,” is crucial for creating enjoyable and competitive Call of Duty games.
Since 2007’s Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4, skill-based matchmaking (SBMM) has been a key feature. This system underwent significant enhancements starting from the 2019 Modern Warfare release.
As a gamer, I’ve come across information from a blog about Activision considering a new playlist for matchmaking where skill doesn’t matter. Sounds great, right? But hold on, there’s a catch. The developers are worried that if they implement this feature, only the high-skilled players will join the pool and the low- and mid-skilled gamers might not be interested or even able to keep up, leading to an imbalanced gaming experience for everyone involved.
As a fan, I understand that Activision takes into account both unranked and ranked playlists when matching players based on skill level. They believe it’s essential for beginners to have the opportunity to develop their skills in an environment where they can make significant contributions to their team and earn personal in-game achievements, even if they don’t initially participate in ranked matches.
As a dedicated fan, I can tell you that when it comes to evaluating multiplayer (MP) skills in Call of Duty, the team solely relies on the performance during matches. They don’t consider factors like player progression or the total amount of time spent playing the game when determining skill levels. The rating for each player’s skill factor is constantly evolving and gets compared against every other player in a given match.
Activison maintains the importance of skill level in matchmaking against criticism because it leads to a superior experience for 80-90% of players. This results in higher rankings at the end of games, increased engagement with the game, and fewer instances of quitting mid-match.
The research indicates that eliminating skill from the game system could cause two problems. First, lower and average skilled players might leave more frequently, resulting in a predominantly high-skilled player base. Consequently, matches would become increasingly competitive for everyone instead of fostering balanced teams.
A white paper disclosed that Activision conducted tests on Modern Warfare 3’s multiplayer, lowering the skill requirement for some players during matchmaking. Approximately half of North American Modern Warfare 3 gamers participated in these skill-reduced tests earlier in the year.
According to Activision, the study revealed that players who had larger differences in skills were more apt to abandon matches mid-game and were less likely to come back to the game compared to those with no changes in matchmaking.
Amongst the less and averagely skilled players, there was a decline of more than 1 percentage point in their retention rate as indicated in the study. In simpler terms, nearly all the players with underdeveloped skills showed a substantial decrease in returning rates.
In the study, it’s mentioned that while more skilled players tended to stay, less and mid-skilled players tended to leave over time. Consequently, the higher-skill player pool dominated matchmaking. The company anticipates that without these lower-skilled players, the overall player base would significantly decline within a few months, potentially leading to an unfavorable experience for everyone involved.
In an experiment, the team adjusted the matching process to make it harder for some players with higher skills to find games. Contrary to their expectation, this led to a larger number of these skilled players leaving matches and ultimately abandoning the game altogether.
In this study, Activision noted that lessening skill requirements would lead to minimal improvement for experienced gamers. However, this benefit would likely be fleeting.
As an avid fan, I’ve noticed that the most skilled players often secure more matches where they can easily outplay their opponents in the short term. However, this trend comes with a consequence: the competition tends to play less due to the vast skill difference, leading to a shrinking pool of players overall.
When lower and medium-skilled players leave “the main player group,” there’s a higher chance that top-skilled players will be matched against each other automatically.
In the report, it was made clear that ping consistency holds significant weight in Call of Duty’s matchmaking system, as this factor persists uniformly across various player skill pools. Nevertheless, minor differences in ping may emerge within specific skill groups due to varying player availability during certain matchmaking periods.
Activision stated that a thriving player base benefits everyone in the community, and they will soon publish another report detailing the role of skills in the Ranked Play’s matchmaking process during summertime.
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2024-07-26 20:06