Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4 has launched with a matchmaking system that heavily favors skill-based pairings, drawing criticism from some players. In response, multiplayer creative director Joe Cecot has stated that he does not believe a "perfect" matchmaking system, one that satisfies every player's needs, is achievable.
"I don’t know if there’s perfecting it," Cecot told IGN. "We can look at the data and how it affects things, and we can quantify how it affects a certain group of players or a large percentage of them in a negative way. And so, though we’re not talking about exact specifics on matchmaking, our end goal is that every match is a good match."
Skill-based matchmaking (SBMM) aims to pair players of similar skill levels, aiming for balanced competition. This contrasts with open matchmaking, which prioritizes faster queue times by matching any available players. While SBMM has been a feature in some form in past Call of Duty titles, including the original Modern Warfare, the latest entry appears to utilize it exclusively, even after alternative options were available during the beta phase.
Players often express frustration with SBMM for several reasons. It can limit opportunities for players to dominate less skilled opponents, impacting kill-to-death ratios. More significantly, SBMM can lead to longer wait times as the system works to find comparable players. Additionally, it may pair players across significant geographical distances, potentially causing connection latency issues. Open matchmaking, while less balanced, often provides quicker matches and a more casual experience.
Cecot acknowledged that all matchmaking systems have inherent trade-offs. He suggested that the pursuit of a flawless system is likely a futile endeavor, even for a company that invests heavily in player data analysis. The current approach in Modern Warfare 4 aims for good matches, even if perfect satisfaction for all players remains an elusive goal.