Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 Reportedly Changing Very Controversial Feature
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 is reportedly making changes to the series' most controversial feature. Over the past few installments -- Vanguard, Black Ops Cold War, Modern Warfare, etc. -- one of the biggest talking points in the COD community is skill-based matchmaking, more commonly known as SBMM. Skill-based matchmaking has always been a thing in ranked modes. The problem for many COD fans is that it's now also in casual modes. This means no matter if you're playing competitive or more casually, you're being placed with people of similar skill. Over the last few installments, the effectiveness of this type of matchmaking has increased dramatically, which is why so many are now noticing it, and this is why it's been a big talking point the last few years not just in the Call of Duty community, but across the whole industry. As you would expect, it's not going anywhere with Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, but changes are being made to it for this year's installment.
According to prominent Call of Duty insider, Ralph Valve, the discussion around SBMM has not been missed by Activision, who has reportedly assigned a whole subsidiary studio, Demonware, to refine the system. To this end, it sounds like Modern Warfare 2 is reducing the amount most players feel the effect of SBMM. More specifically, the plan is to continue to shield lower-skilled players from more experienced players, which makes sense. However, the plan is also to apparently have SBMM be less debilitating for the majority of players caught somewhere between new and unskilled and the top level.
Interestingly, a big emphasis is being placed on tracking smurfs to keep them away from the protected pool of players. Meanwhile, those that qualify, the bottom of the pool in terms of skill, could have bots added to their lobbies
The report concludes by noting that disbanding lobbies is here to stay, largely because the whole new SBMM system would collapse without it. As you may know, the disbanding of lobbies after every match has also been a controversial matchmaking system, largely because it's different from classic COD titles.
For now, all of this is unofficial, and thus should be taken with a grain of salt. While the source in question has proven reliable in the past, it doesn't mean all of this information is automatically accurate, and even if it is, this may change over time.
H/T, What If Gaming.