Call of Duty devs finally explain skill-based matchmaking

It’s been two months since Activision promised to finally address matchmaking in CoD, a hot topic for years. In a new post, developers shared insight into how the multiplayer matchmaking system works.

For the past few years, skill-based matchmaking has been a controversial CoD debate, as players have shifted away from the title due to how punishing putting players in sweaty lobbies has become. MW3‘s been no different, as social media has been ablaze with claims of punishing matchmaking as soon as the game arrived.

Seeing the feedback, back in November 2023, the developers shared an official statement briefly summarizing how the system works. The statement ended by stating that more information would arrive in the coming weeks, with the developers promising to share additional insight.

After two months, the developers have finally assembled and shared what fans have been waiting for with “Call of Duty’s Matchmaking Intel.”

CoD devs explain multiplayer matchmaking system

To preface, the message shared only covers the multiplayer portion of CoD. The developers mention other modes will be covered at a later date.

When it comes to CoD’s multiplayer matchmaking, there are two key factors the system takes into account — connection (Ping is King) and time to match (how long it takes to get into a match). There are also smaller critical factors that are taken into account such as platform played, input, recent maps/modes, and skill.

Regarding connection, the developers employ a metric known as “Delta Ping,” which is “the difference in round trip time of the data between your best data center” and “the data center onto which your lobby has been placed.” CoD’s netcode tries to mitigate the effects of latency, but in some cases, it can’t completely do that, impacting the feel of a match.

Activision

On the other hand, the developers explain time to match, the time spent waiting for a match, is impacted by players backing in and out of lobbies. Using Rustment as an example, if a player backs out of a lobby, it creates a process of backfilling, harming the overall experience as the system tries to fill the empty lobby.

The big point of the article was measuring skill, which Call of Duty does take into account when matchmaking, considering deaths, score, and performance. They’ve run tests without this system in place, but the data showed player retention was significantly lower.

The post also goes on to debunk common myths such as AI in multiplayer or hit-based changes aka “skill-based damage” of which the developers state neither exists in-game.

Future updates will continue to explain how the system, including an upcoming “Ping and Matchmaking white paper” that will provide more granular information.