Last November, Activision and the Call of Duty teams announced that they would be more open about the matchmaking systems in Call of Duty Modern Warfare 3, including SBMM (skilled-based matchmaking), and now they’ve finally followed through with the first major discussion about it, confirming and debunking several theories behind it.

In a lengthy blog update on the official Call of Duty website, the studios have revealed some new details about the matchmaking system that’s featured in Modern Warfare 3. First up is the general process of how it works in the game and what factors contribute to it.

Call of Duty Modern Warfare 3 Matchmaking Process and Factors

CONNECTION – As the community will attest, Ping is King. Connection is the most critical and heavily weighted factor in the matchmaking process.

TIME TO MATCH – This factor is the second most critical to the matchmaking process. We all want to spend time playing the game rather than waiting for matches to start.

The following factors are also critical to the matchmaking process:

• PLAYLIST DIVERSITY – The number of playlists available for players to choose from.
• RECENT MAPS/MODES – Considering maps you have recently played on as well as your mode preferences, editable in Quick Play settings.
• SKILL/PERFORMANCE– This is used to give our players – a global community with a wide skill range – the opportunity to have an impact in every match.
• INPUT DEVICE – Controller or mouse and keyboard.
• PLATFORM – The device (PC, Console) that you are playing on.
•  VOICE CHAT – Enabled or disabled.

“Every time a player begins matchmaking in Multiplayer, for example, the process needs to work through all these factors to find other players (all of which are also being analyzed) to quickly assemble a lobby that is stable and competitive.

These factors have resulted in a process that we believe provides the best player experience and creates a stronger community for Call of Duty worldwide.”

How Does Skill Play A Factor In Matchmaking for Call of Duty?

The teams also opened up about how skill players into their matchmaking, for both teammates and enemies.

“Skill is determined based on a player’s overall performance: kills, deaths, wins, losses, and more, including mode selection, and recent matches as an overall metric across all Multiplayer experiences. This is a fluid measurement that’s consistently updating and reacting to your gameplay. Skill is not only a factor in matchmaking players against appropriate enemies, but also when finding teammates.”

They go on to explain some of their collected internal data, suggesting that SBMM may be here to stay.

“Our data shows that when lower skill players are consistently on the losing end, they are likely to quit matches in progress or stop playing altogether. This has an effect on the player pool. A smaller player pool means wait times for matches increase and connections may not be as strong as they should be. This can compound over time to create a spiral effect. Eventually, when only high-skilled players remain because lower skilled players have quit out of frustration, the result is an ecosystem that is worse overall for everyone.”

Bots, I Swear There Are Bots In The Lobby!

There’s been a theory that has been going around for months now that players are being matched up with bots, due to that specific player’s behavior. We covered some of it here, but as it turns out, they were indeed real players. The blog confirmed this very thing in the community questions, stating that there are no bots used in matchmaking and if that ever changes, they’d let everyone know.

Another working theory is that this is how some content creators and partners have been getting into lobbies where they’re playing extremely well. Many have pointed out the odd behavior of enemies and even teammates in some streams, but again, the studios confirm that there are no such systems, and creators/partners are not getting any special treatment when matchmaking.

Biggest Questions About Call of Duty Modern Warfare 3 Matchmaking Answered

To round off the blog post, the studio took to answering some of the biggest community questions, debunking several more theories.

Does Call of Duty consider player engagement (time played) as a factor in matchmaking?

We do not consider how often, or how much, you play when determining matchmaking.

Does the Call of Duty matchmaking process impact any in-game elements such as hit registration, player visibility, aim assist, damage, et cetera?

No. Our matchmaking process does not impact gameplay elements.

Does spending money on Call of Duty content (such as bundles, Battle Pass, or BlackCell) change how players are matched?

Money spent does not in any way, shape or form, factor into matchmaking.

Does Call of Duty use bots in Multiplayer matchmaking?

Call of Duty Multiplayer does not use bots as part of the general matchmaking process. If this changes in the future, we will inform the community.

Do partners or content creators get special consideration in general matchmaking?

No. We do not change the matchmaking process based on who owns the account. In specific cases, such as for events like Call of Duty Next, we may be required to customize how lobbies are formed; however, these events usually take place in private matches and do not impact general matchmaking.

Have you ever considered an opt-in/opt-out system for the matchmaking algorithm?

Our data suggests that splitting the player base with an opt-in / opt-out matchmaking system will have negative consequences on the overall player pool. That means, potentially, longer wait times based on the type of matchmaking selected (plus add into that playlist, map and mode history, platform, and more) and matches with poor connections.

Have you ever tested removing skill as a consideration from matchmaking?

We have run tests over the years to determine if removing skill as a consideration from matchmaking makes sense. We will continue to launch these tests periodically. To date, the data remains consistent with what we detailed above – players tend to quit matches or stop playing if they’re getting blown out, resulting in a negative overall experience for all players in the lobby and the general player population. We purposefully do not disclose when these tests occur because it may impact feedback or the data we see during these tests.

Have you considered removing skill from matchmaking in specific general multiplayer game modes?

We have considered this in the past and we will continue to examine if this idea makes sense as part of an experimental playlist or in specific modes. We have nothing to announce on that front today.

That’s a lot of information to take in, and we’re glad to see the teams finally followed through with this update. More deep dive updates are expected to follow, with the technical team currently working on one for Ping and Matchmaking.

So what do you all think, has this finally cleared the air, or were you expecting to see more discussed, such as what improvements will be coming to it?