Recently, there was a showcase presentation for Modern Warfare 4 where creators and media were given the chance to playtest the game and speak with developers. We were also invited to the event and gained plenty of insight into some changes MW4 is making to multiplayer.
In those talks with developers, some creators were able to ask about skill-based matchmaking, or “SBMM,” and its place in MW4. SBMM is a style of matchmaking that matches players based on their skill level. This was the default matchmaking in multiplayer for the past six years—and a constant cause for controversy—until the beta of Black Ops 7, which instituted “open matchmaking,” removing SBMM from all but a single playlist, called “standard matchmaking.”
Per CharlieIntel, Infinity Ward stated that it is currently analyzing data from the matchmaking system in Black Ops 7, but didn’t go into exact detail about the system they’d implement in MW4‘s matchmaking.
Instead, the developers said that the system “will not revert directly back to pre-Black Ops 7 [matchmaking].” Creators who attended the playtest for MW4 seem optimistic that the developers will keep a similar style to the one in BO7. According to YouTuber Tdawgsmitty, the developers stated that they enjoy the matchmaking in BO7 and “are not planning on changing it.”
If true, this would mean that MW4‘s default matchmaking playlists will remain open and match players more on connection than on their individual skill level. Of course, BO7 features a “standard” matchmaking playlist as well, which features traditional SBMM.
It’s currently unknown how these separate playlists have fared against one another. If Activision and Infinity Ward analyze data that indicates the “standard matchmaking” has succeeded over the “open matchmaking” playlists, we could see MW4 take a slightly different direction than BO7. At the very least, however, the franchise won’t return to the extreme SBMM levels we saw prior to BO7.
Regardless of how the SBMM debate shakes out, CharlieIntel stated that Infinity Ward is planning to be completely transparent about how matchmaking will work in MW4 before launch on Oct. 23.
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