The SBMM player selection system in the Call of Duty shooters has been controversial among players for many years. Some believe that she makes the matches more honest, while others complain that because of her each game turns into a stress test, leaving no room for relaxed skating rinks. Former Call of Duty Developer Charlie Olson, who worked in the Raven Software studio on Matchmaching algorithms, ExplainedWhy SBMM is vital for the series.
According to Olson, about 50% of players leave the game if there is no skill selection in it. Beginners do not want to constantly lose, and experienced players are tired of “dragging” the whole team. However, he also its that the system has a serious drawback – it deprives players of a sense of progress and skill. Due to SBMM, statistics, such as the ratio of murders and deaths, lose their meaning, so the players do not feel their growth. Winning in matches, they encounter only stronger rivals, creating a sense of punishment for a good game.
As a possible solution, Olson proposes to introduce a system of awards in which experienced players would receive bonuses for participating in more complex matches. This could compensate for the feeling of injustice and motivate strong players to continue to play.
As an example of the failure of the game without SBMM, Olson cited the XDEFiant shooter from Ubisoft, who tried to compete with Call of Duty, but could not hold the audience. In his opinion, the lack of a selection system played a role in the failure of the project, since the developers could not control the balance of matches. He does not claim that SBMM would save XDEFiant, but believes that the game did not give himself a chance to success, abandoning this mechanics.
Although the Call of Duty matchmaking may be too cruel, Olson is sure that the complete removal of SBMM will lead to a massive outflow of players with a low level of skill, and this will cause a chain reaction and negatively affect the entire game.
