Call of Duty server issues broke skill-based matchmaking for a day, and players loved it

27.02.2024 - 18:23 / destructoid.com / Rainbow VI (Vi)

Skilled-based matchmaking has been an ongoing topic of conversation in the Call of Duty community for a while.

For obvious reasons, it’s a necessity that prevents lower-skilled players from quitting or just having an awful experience. However, it also makes playing any style of Call of Duty, other than “sweaty,” downright impossible for more skilled players. The game’s servers recently had some serious issues for a day, and part of those problems stopped skilled-based matchmaking (SBMM) from working properly.

On February 23, millions of players logged into their Modern Warfare 3 accounts and found a few surprises. Their player level was reset to 1, the Zombies mode wouldn’t work, and loadouts were disabled. It was a mess that seemingly happened overnight. Thankfully, the developers worked tirelessly to get everything back in order throughout the day. Part of the process involved disabling ranked play, as progressing through the ranks wasn’t working either.

However, one result of the server issues that received positive feedback on social media was skilled-based matchmaking going offline. Many popular streamers and other players took to Twitter to voice their joy about the lack of SBMM. It seemed like high-level players could get into lobbies with inexperienced Call of Duty players who didn’t know what they were doing. Clips like this one took off, displaying just how easy it was for the streamer to toy with another player in Warzone.

But why would everyone love a lack of SBMM? It’s the system that keeps players playing against opponents of a similar skill level. You’d think it would be beneficial for everyone, right?

The argument against removing SBMM is usually that streamers and other skilled players just want to dominate. While that plays a part, that is a very low percentage of the player base. The above-average casual player suffers, getting thrown into lobbies against the best of the best when they’re probably not.

Being better than really bad players puts you in the same bracket as people playing the game for a living. There aren’t enough streamers with a 4.0+ kill/death ratio to fill a lobby every time they search, so instead, they’re playing above-average players with a 0.9+ K/D, who have no chance.

Additionally, Call of Duty games are much different than the average online shooter. While games like Counter-Strike 2, Valorant, or Rainbow Six Siege were built for competition, Call of Duty was not. Part of the reason a vast majority of players will play the franchise’s new entries is the fun you can have while using less-than-ideal weapons or completing challenges.

Thanks to skilled-based matchmaking, an above-average player cannot go into a match to complete challenges with a specific