Activision researchers secretly disabled the skill matchmaking system in Call of Duty multiplayer and “it turns out everyone hates it.”
Call of Duty publisher Game of the Year recently published a comprehensive 25-page paper that delves into Skill-Based Matchmaking (SBMM), a sometimes controversial system that aims to pair players with opponents of similar skill level in multiplayer groups, and the company finds that keeping SBMM intact is in everyone’s best interest.
the Research paper entitled “The Matchmaking Series: The Role of Skill in Matchmaking” “While skill is one of many factors in matchmaking, it is not the driving force behind Call of Duty’s matchmaking system,” he asserts. Although during the research process, when Activision “secretly and gradually discontinued SBMM and monitored player retention,” “everyone seemed to hate it, with more dropouts, less play, and more negative hits.”
“Playing against a better opponent may lead players to become more proficient over time, but being too outperformed in their matches, as our tests have shown, instead leads players to drop out of ongoing matches or not play multiplayer,” Activision explains.
All the evidence suggests that SBMM is here to stay, with Activision believing that the majority of players can participate in “all aspects of Call of Duty’s core multiplayer game design” with SBMM enabled. Regardless, the publisher is “considering a single core multiplayer playlist that does not use skill as a matchmaking factor,” though “historical testing shows that low- and mid-skill players are unlikely to participate in such a playlist.”
Activision found that SBMM creates games where “players can contribute meaningfully to their team, not just by winning, but also by achieving their own personal milestones and records.” The system can also avoid the frustration of “getting on the wrong side of crucial matches,” which often leads to players quitting mid-game, a move that “negatively impacts the experience for players of all skill levels.” It’s no fun playing against a team that’s getting beat and quitting prematurely—in fact, playing on the other side is less fun, basically. Activision is looking into similar experiments later this year, so this case isn’t closed yet.
Activision Blizzard is reportedly already making AI-powered games, and has sold a microtransaction generated by AI in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3.
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