For a long time, SBMM was not even discussed by the CoD manufacturer. In 2024, the veil will be lifted.
For many years, there has been a debate among Call of Duty fans about the controversial, often misunderstood and almost legendary skill-based matchmaking, usually abbreviated as SBMM.
Simply put, SBMM stands for an invisible metricwhich always assigns players in public lobbies to opponents of similar strength – which serves fairness, but in turn brings with it a whole host of new problems.
You can read more about why SBMM is such a sore spot for players here:
Now Activision is going on an information offensive and reveals a document entitled “Matchmaking Series: The Role of Skill in Matchmaking”.
This 25-page report explains the skill concept within SBMM in more detail and how it is actually used.
A particularly exciting aspect is the documentation a large-scale experimentSBMM was massively shut down – with partly drastic consequences.
2:11
Black Ops 6: The first gameplay of the new CoD is here – new trailer finally confirms the setting
Less SBMM, more frustration
The developer and industry consultant Rami Ismail summarizes the findings from Activision’s SBMM experiment:
They secretly switched off the SBMM and monitored the behavior. As it turns out, everyone hated itMatches were abandoned more often, less was played overall and rounds were often extremely one-sided.
What happened? In 2024, Modern Warfare 3 temporarily massively reduced the SBMM for certain regions.
Thousands of players suddenly found themselves playing without skill restrictions without knowing it and ended up in almost random groups. According to Activision, the result is clear:
- 90 percent of players started the game less often
- 80 percent of players abandoned matches prematurely
According to Activision, the multiplayer rounds in Call of Duty without SBMM caused significantly more frustration and reduced the general interest in starting the game. Users in the “low and medium skill range” were particularly affected by this, according to the document.
Ping remains king
The paper summarizes the findings from the SBMM experiment as follows:
Playing against a superior opponent encourages the urge to improve oneself. However, if players are dominated to a very large extent, they tend to leave the match or not start the multiplayer (or no longer).
At the same time, it is emphasized that skill is not the only decisive metric in the selection of lobbies. Matchmaking, for example, draws with the highest priority the geographical location of the players to ensure a good connection.
Only then will skill, the input device used and other factors be taken into account. The argument that SBMM causes worse pings and lags when playing seems to be off the table.
What do you think of the SBMM system and the sudden transparency offensive by the CoD makers? Let us know in the comments below!
