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Call of Duty publisher Activision has given an unrivaled look at how matchmaking works in the shooter series, kicking off what it intends to be an "ongoing conversation" about the process.
The factors that determine who you're up against in Call of Duty's multiplayer modes have long been the topic of debate among players. In a lengthy post on the official Call of Duty website, Activision has provided a detailed breakdown of matchmaking in order to demystify the process and quash the long-running theories that player skill is the principle driving factor.
"We often see the community refer to our matchmaking system as 'Skill-based Matchmaking," Activision says. "Call of Duty does consider skill (or more specifically player performance) as a component, as do most in the industry, but skill is not the dominant variable. We consider and prioritize several factors to create lobbies."
Chief among those is a player's internet connection. "Ping is King," explains Activision. "Connection is the most critical and heavily weighted factor in the matchmaking process." The second most important factor is timing, with the aim being to have players in the action as quickly as possible instead of twiddling their thumbs in lobbies.
Following this, it comes down to elements such as playlist diversity, recent maps and modes, skill and performance, input device, platform, and whether or not voice chat is enabled.
Delving further into that all-important issue of skill, Activision clarifies the multitude of factors that go into determining a player's overall performance. This includes kills, deaths, wins, losses, mode selection, recent matches, and more across all multiplayer experiences.
According to the publisher, from what it's gleaned from game data, limiting the scope of player skill in matches does result in a "healthier ecosystem," though it is aware that this isn't a perfect solution. "We also understand that many high skill players want more variety of experience, but often feel like they only get the 'sweatiest' of lobbies," it says. "We have heard this feedback clearly and will continue to test and actively explore ways to mitigate this concern."
To that end, Activision has conducted tests where, unbeknownst to players, skill was taken out of the matchmaking equation entirely. Based on the results, it looks as though it will remain a contributing factor for the foreseeable future, though the publisher says it will continue to conduct these tests occasionally to determine if its removal "makes sense."
The full blog post contains much more information on the matchmaking process and makes for an interesting and insightful read. It's worth noting, though, that this information refers to Call of Duty's multiplayer only in games like Modern Warfare 3, and discussion on how it works in Warzone and ranked modes is being saved for another day.
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