CoD Matchmaking Research – Activision recently released its CoD Matchmaking Research document online. The document details the various mechanics that were developed in determining a match.
The document, titled “Matchmaking Series: The Role of Skill in Matchmaking,” details mechanics designed to keep players playing the game as long as possible. What does the document say?
CoD Matchmaking Research In Detail
The 25-page document explains the concept of skills in the Skill-Based Matchmaking (SBMM) system. The Activision team confirmed what kind of Skills the algorithm sees.
There are several things that make a big contribution in SBMM, of course this is Skill. How to calculate this skill is explained using 3 Criteria, namely Match Total Kills, Kill/Death Ratioand also Kills/Deaths by Enemy.
The first 2 criteria make sense, but of course can be manipulated by lowering the K/D to be able to play in a lower Lobby. And this is where the 3rd criteria comes in and addresses this loophole.
The latter criteria allows Activision to more accurately determine the skill of its players and players cannot outsmart SBMM by intentionally killing themselves in a match.
And also, the matchmaking process itself has several layers. The first layer is of course looking for opponents based on geolocation or player location. Then the skill algorithm explained earlier comes in. Then the player control types such as Mouse Keyboard and Controller are considered.
In order to perfect the CoD Matchmaking algorithm, Activision Blizzard also frequently conducts experiments to determine how players react when faced with certain matches.
Players Quit Playing Due to Experiment to Turn Off SBMM Feature?
Activision had conducted a secret experiment for the Modern Warfare game in 2024. The experiment was to lower the SBMM metric for 1000 players for a full month.
This put 1,000 players in a more random lobby against enemies with vastly different skills. In reporting the findings of the experiment, Activision noted that by doing this, 90% of players did not return to the game for a while.
In short, when the game is random and not adjusted to the player’s skill, of course the players will leave the game faster and make the players frustrated with the game.
And this is the first time players can see clearly how SBMM works. Although the system will be adjusted over time, the basic algorithm will remain the same.
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