Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 isn't even out yet, but the SBMM debate has already reared its head

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2’s multiplayer isn’t even out but players are already in heated debates about the merit of skill-based matchmaking.

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2’s multiplayer is set to go live this Friday, but some players are already swearing off the mode due to the matchmaking methodology. Popular streamer TimTheTatman spoke yesterday, saying that if skill-based matchmaking wasn’t on in the game, he would stream the game, but likely wouldn't if the feature was present.

In a clip captured by Full Squad Gaming, he continued by making the bold claim: “I’ve said this before, and I’ll say it again, SBMM [skill-based matchmaking], I dare say, is killing video games as a whole.”

Thus far, there is no absolute confirmation that Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 will have strong skill-based matchmaking, but CharlieIntel did note, during the multiplayer beta in September, that it did appear to be active and quite aggressive.

Skill-based matchmaking is a process in multiplayer games that matches you exclusively with players in or around your skill level. While this works for a lot of skill levels to make higher quality games, at the top ranks it can become an issue as players continually go up against the best of the best. This means they have to try exceptionally hard each game and can’t get a reprieve even in unranked modes. 

This debate has raged on across multiple games, such as Apex Legends and Destiny 2, with some arguing that games should prioritise location-based matchmaking, meaning that ping should be the driving factor of creating lobbies. Or, at the very least, loosen the parameters to create a wider net of skilled players to make more variable lobbies.

It’s important to note, that skill-based matchmaking isn’t an on-or-off feature, but rather one of the factors when a game is considering how to populate a lobby, with things like ping being another. It's possible adjustments will be made to please more players, but it seems unlikely Infinity Ward would ever exclude a player’s skill as a matchmaking tool, or as a boogeyman to blame when you're getting stomped on by the leaderboard. 

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