Call of Duty is back with Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2’s multiplayer mode currently in beta which means that a related topic is back in discussion as well: skill-based matchmaking. Often abbreviated as SBMM and complained about just as often, the matchmaking system that’s employed by numerous competitive games attempts to group players together based on skill levels. Streamers and more casual players alike have already come out in force against this SBMM once more with Dr Disrespect blasting the implementation as “horrific” as others echo similar sentiments.
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The streamer who used to work on Call of Duty himself as a Sledgehammer Games developer has been streaming Modern Warfare 2 off and on recently as players flocked to the beta. During one of those streams where he played with FaZe Doozy and TimTheTatman, he complimented parts of the game but criticized the SBMM.
I think the game feels really good,” Dr Disrespect began. “It looks good. I like the direction they’re going with some of these weapon attachments and the way they’re handling the weapons. I can’t really speak to Warzone 2, but for the most part, the map design is cool. But man, that SBMM, it’s horrific.”
Dr Disrespect was far from the only one who’s spoken out against SBMM this week. Other streamers like CouRageJD commented on the frequency of people complaining about “how sweaty their games are due to SBMM.” Pro Call of Duty Player Octane shared a clip that showed people were already intentionally tanking their in-match performance in order to trick the SBMM into placing them into easier lobbies.
The most common suggestion for resolving this issue has been to have a non-SBMM playlist for a more casual experience with a ranked mode featuring the skill-based system instead. Rehashing the common greviances with SBMM, streamers and more casual players have complained that the system makes every single match feel like an overly competitive experience even during times when people just want to relax and play some easygoing matches. Those in favor of SBMM say that streamers just want to be able to stomp every game and that more casual players should simply do better, and thus we return to every SBMM argument that surfaces when a new multiplayer game releases.
Modern Warfare 2 is very much in beta, but these conversations likely won’t be going away anytime soon, so expect players (and perhaps Modern Warfare 2’s creators) to keep talking about SBMM more in the future.
