There has been intense discussion about the matchmaking in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare for some time. It is unclear which system the new CoD installment uses, and the developers remain silent. Now, two CoD experts have tested the matchmaking themselves, and here’s what they found.
What the community is discussing: How does player search work in the multiplayer of Modern Warfare? Even though many players suspect a skill-based matchmaking and criticize it – nobody outside of Infinity Ward knows for sure. However, the developers reveal nothing and remain tight-lipped.
This only leads to further debates. Many wish for a player search based on connection quality. For some, it would already be acceptable if the developers would even talk about it.
What kind of matchmaking does Modern Warfare use now? This is a question that well-known YouTubers and CoD experts Drift0r and TheXclusiveAce have asked themselves and taken matters into their own hands.
Based on their own tests, the two tried to find out exactly how player search works in Modern Warfare 2019. And it apparently works differently than many players assume.
Famous YouTubers test the matchmaking in CoD Modern Warfare
How was it tested? Both used three different accounts for the tests.
- one with poor stats and K/D ratios
- one average account in terms of performance
- and one with good, or in Drift0r’s case, outstanding stats
They entered five different matches with each of their three accounts and recorded info about all other players in the lobby – including stats such as player level, K/D, win/loss ratio, average points per minute, and more.
In short: They gathered info from 30 lobbies to determine whether the matchmaking in the new Modern Warfare uses SBMM, i.e. skill-based matchmaking.
These are the results: Here you will find an overview of all important insights gained during the tests:
- The matchmaking in Modern Warfare does not prioritize skill over connection. It prioritizes the best/fastest available server.
- Players with good stats and a high K/D are not necessarily grouped together.
- It seems that Modern Warfare tends to match players of similar ranks/levels with each other.
- Sometimes players are grouped based on their recent performances. However, this refers to the latest performances from the last few matches (likely from the last 5), not the overall performance of a player.
- It is also apparent that some form of matchmaking rating is active. This system is partially responsible for which players are grouped in a lobby.
Here you can find the complete data sheet with all test parameters.
What does this mean now? Contrary to the widespread belief that Call of Duty: Modern Warfare relies on SBMM, the results show that Modern Warfare rather focuses on the best server. No skill-based matchmaking is used – at least not purely.
Because both YouTubers agree that at least some form of matchmaking rating is active. This would be based on specific stats and sometimes ensures that players with similar stats are matched in a lobby. This would cause some games to feel more “skill-focused” at times.
However, currently only the developers know exactly how the matchmaking in Modern Warfare is structured and which criteria it considers. And they remain silent about this as well. It remains exciting to see if there will ever be an official statement from Infinity Ward regarding this matter. However, with the recent test results, there is now at least a slightly better insight into the mechanics of player search used.
The tests in the video: Here you can find the videos of both YouTubers about their experiment:
What do you think of these results? What do you think how the matchmaking in Modern Warfare really works?
