Activision Officially Refutes Popular Theory About Call of Duty’s Multiplayer

Call of Duty developers finally answered our questions about multiplayer and SBMM.

Activision Officially Refutes Popular Theory About Call of Duty's Multiplayer

SUMMARY

  • Call of Duty developers released a blog detailing Modern Warfare 3's matchmaking systems and how they work.
  • Gamers ask the Call of Duty developers questions about its matchmaking system, and they are shocked at the answers.
  • Unless there are any major changes in the multiplayer attitude, it will continue to stay the same.
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In a recent blog post created by the Call of Duty staff, there was a discussion about the current state of the multiplayer mode and what it consists of. For many players, this was the perfect opportunity to ask the developers behind the popular franchise their questions.

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At the bottom of the blog post, there are a few Q&A’s that go over a few different topics, but one question that was asked to the developers is whether or not they use bots in multiplayer matchmaking, which led to a response no one was expecting.

Why Has This Player Raised the Question About Bot-Filled Multiplayer Lobbies in Call of Duty?

Call of Duty developers released a blog detailing how its matchmaking system works.
Call of Duty developers released a blog detailing how its matchmaking system works.

Throughout the years, gamers have always wondered how Call of Duty manages the multiplayer matchmaking system that keeps them playing that specific game mode. One of the more common terms you will hear when talking about matchmaking is the term skill-based matchmaking, but that is an entirely different topic all together.

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A large group of players have always theorized that games like Call of Duty and other games that have a multiplayer mode will tend to use bot-filled lobbies to try and fill in spaces so that players aren’t waiting forever to receive a match.

This is more common amongst new players, as gamers tend to think that new players will be matched with bots so that they have a chance to get some skills and levels within the game before skill-based matchmaking begins to take hold.

Thanks to this blog post from Call of Duty, we now know that this is false and players are just generally getting placed in games with players of similar skill, especially those who are only just turning on the game for the first time.

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Interestingly enough, this isn’t the only question that was asked during this blog post towards the developers, as many questions related to matchmaking were raised and were answered with rather simplistic and to-the-point answers that will put many gamers’ minds at ease.

How Does This Answer Impact the Gaming Community’s Thoughts on Call of Duty?

Gamers ask the Call of Duty developers plenty of questions about the multiplayer matchmaking systems.
Gamers ask the Call of Duty developers plenty of questions about the multiplayer matchmaking systems.

Along with the common questions about SBMM and bot-filled lobbies, there were also points raised about what determines the actual matchmaking system as a whole rather than just certain individual parts. Luckily, many of these questions were already answered due to the blog post in general.

For instance, one player asked whether in-game mechanics like aim assist, hit registration, and more affect the matchmaking process. By this, they mean if I am a console player and my game uses aim assist to help me hit my shots, would the matchmaking focus on that aspect of my gameplay and attempt to match me with similar players?

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According to the answer given to this question, the current matchmaking system that is active in Modern Warfare 3 does not use gameplay aspects to matchmake players. This makes complete sense, as PC players and console players would most likely stay divided, as console players use aim assist a lot more than PC players.

Another question that was asked was whether or not in-game purchases affect the matchmaking system. For example, if someone were to purchase one of the game bundles that provides a gun blueprint and character skin, would this affect who they match with?

According to the blog post, this does not affect the matchmaking system at all, as it doesn’t necessarily change anything regarding gameplay style, and this makes complete sense when you think about it, but there are some broken skins in some cases of Call of Duty.

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What do you think about Call of Duty and its lack of bot lobbies? Are you happy about the current state of Call of Duty multiplayer? Let us know in the comments!

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Written by Liam Magee

Articles Published: 482

Liam is a writer who loves to spend his time gaming, streaming, playing board games, and just talking about games in general. He will play pretty much any game you put in front of him, but he absolutely loves soul-like games the most, or anything story-driven.