Understanding Call of Duty Matchmaking: Balancing Time, Skill, and Team Dynamics

Among discussions in the online shooter community, particularly involving esports professionals, streamers, and casual players, the matchmaking system in Call of Duty frequently emerges as a hot topic. The system often appears flawed, placing players into lobbies where extraordinarily skilled opponents seem to dominate effortlessly. In response to players' concerns, Activision has initiated a blog series to explain in detail the workings of their skill-based matchmaking.

In the previous blog post, discussions revealed that factors such as voice chat options and the choice of Resurgence map play significant roles. The latest post highlights that the "time to match" holds greater importance than "skill," which might contribute to the ongoing issues.

The Call of Duty team released the next installment in their white paper series, "Matchmaking Series: The Role of Skill in Matchmaking." This document offers an in-depth look at the matchmaking mechanics in Call of Duty multiplayer, demonstrating the team's effort to develop a balanced system for all players. Although skill plays a role in matchmaking, it is not the predominant factor.

One of the crucial aspects to consider in terms of skill is team balance. Proper team balancing is essential to creating enjoyable and competitive matches. Imbalanced matches often lead to players quitting, negatively impacting the overall player pool. This white paper delves into team balance in greater detail. Activision's first Matchmaking Intel Blog already mentioned that the matchmaking system historically included player skill among multiple variables, dating back to Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare (2007).

The white paper also touches on recent and historical testing regarding the flexibility of skill levels within matchmaking, examining how increasing the skill gap between players in a lobby affects the gaming experience.