In Call of Duty, the discussion surrounding matchmaking is always a constant topic in the community. One should turn it off as it only brings frustration. Now Activision has revealed that they had reduced their SBMM for a short time and the results were clear.
What kind of test was that? At the beginning of 2024, Activision conducted a test in CoD: MW3. In this test, 50% of the population in North America was used as “test subjects.” These selected players were allowed to play with a modified form of SBMM (Skill-based Matchmaking). This modified SBMM had a lower focus on the skill of other players.
The group you were thrown into was thus randomly determined. That or even more extreme: without SBMM, is what players want in CoD, but the test did not have the results you would hope for now.
SBMM of CoD is an important feature
What were the results? The results were obvious. While about 10% of the top players continued to play and secured their victories, the rest lost interest in playing a new round or staying in the same round. The reason: there were unfair matches because fans were thrown into the mix with other players who had a much higher skill level. This ultimately leads to frustration and, ultimately, to a decline in player numbers.
Interestingly, Activision had only reduced the SBMM for the test – not completely turned it off. A complete shutdown could have shown even better that SBMM is an important factor in current multiplayer games. You can find the 25-page report from Activision here: activision.com.
What do the players say about it? On Reddit, the release of the report is celebrated. With up to 24,436 upvotes and 3,965 comments, users are participating in the discussion around SBMM (as of July 29, 10:59 AM). The following comments can be heard:
- “Great paper, the gaming industry could make more of this public.” – cyanrave
- “The reason why the ‘good old days’ of video games are over is metagaming, not SBMM. SBMM is an attempt to mitigate the effects of metagaming on the player base.” – BusBoatBuey
- “And they forget that there was SBMM back then too, but everyone was bad, so it didn’t matter LOL” – blindmodz
- “This is no real surprise. I think xDefiant shows that no SBMM is okay or even fun for people on the right side of the distribution curve (for a while), but it drains the bottom 40-50% who will statistically be cannon fodder and quit.” – Doctor_Box
What do you think of the report? Are you still in favor of Activision completely disabling its SBMM, or are you now glad that you are not being destroyed by e-sports players every round? Let us know in the comments. You can find more about CoD here: The new crossover of Call of Duty and Fallout manages to make fans of both games unhappy
