Call of Duty 2020 Reportedly Has Very Controversial Feature

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Call of Duty 2020, reportedly titled Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War, will have one of the most controversial features currently in online gaming when it hits PS5, PS4, Xbox One, Xbox Series X, and PC later this year. The past few years there's been a lot of debate over SBMM in the Call of Duty community. SBMM stands for skill-based matchmaking, and it's a hot topic not in just the Call of Duty community, but other online gaming communities like Fortnite and Apex Legends. And apparently Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War, like last year's Call of Duty: Modern Warfare, will have skill-based matchmaking.

For those that don't know: SBMM matches you with opponents of your skill. And it's currently the most common form of matchmaking in online games, though there are still some that use random matchmaking. For some games like Rocket League or FIFA, SBMM is fine. In fact, it makes the game substantially better. In other games, like Call of Duty, whether or not SBMM improves the overall experience is very much up for debate.

Call of Duty didn't always have skill-based matchmaking, but it appears like it's going to be the standard going forward. According to reputable Call of Duty insider Tom Henderson -- formerly known as Long Sensation -- Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War will have SBMM. And according to Henderson, the decision isn't up to developer Treyarch, but is with Activision. Henderson further alleges that the feature is "here to stay."

As you would expect, this isn't sitting well with the more engaged Call of Duty players, many of which hate SBMM with a passion. However, as developers and publishers have said in the past, research shows that only a minority of players have a problem with SBMM. Further, it's an important feature for new and more casual players, which is typically the target of every online game. Why? Because not only is there more of them, but developers want their game to grow, which means attracting new players. And nothing deters a player more than getting walloped by seasoned players as they try and learn the game.

At the moment of publishing, Activision and Treyarch have no commented on this latest Call of Duty 2020 report, and it's unlikely they will.



Posted:
Related Forum: Call of Duty Forum

Source: https://comicbook.com/gaming/news/call-of-duty-black-ops-cold-war-2020-controversial-feature/

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ifconfigPosted:

JoeI This is clearly why cod multiplayer has suffered


As much as it's shit, does improve you at the game.

ifconfigPosted:

Not a fan of SBMM, but not bothered. Just means instead of playing let's say 10 games a day, I'll play 5 because I can't be assed sweating for that long.

ifconfigPosted:

tO0t
Anhur Not a fan. If it is true i might not even play it as often. Not only does SBMM slow down matchmaking once you get decent at the game, its also boring to play with your less-than-decent friends who will constantly get bodied in your lobbies. All people are going to do is get max level and make a new account. I also doubt they'll let you fresh restart with this system but we'll see.

I can't even play apex without seeing the same handful of people in my lobbies during the night. It's such a small community for how big the game is with SBMM. To put it in perspective, Me and my nephew play apex with different groups of people and i've only seen him in 1 of my lobbies and that was due to a apex event without SBMM.


Apex SBMM is honestly so painful. I'm in the same boat,

SBMM makes sense it's just annoying having to sweat your bag off 24/7 instead of being able to casually play. I'm decent at the game but have to take breaks for a few weeks here and there to travel for work and let me tell you it's tough to get back into being so rusty sometimes lol.


Agreed. If I wanted to sweat I'd play a ranked game mode.

RyanPosted:

It definitely ruins the game, if you are a good player you cannot just play casually, every game you match up with people playing as if their life depends on it...

JoeIPosted:

This is clearly why cod multiplayer has suffered

tO0tPosted:

Anhur Not a fan. If it is true i might not even play it as often. Not only does SBMM slow down matchmaking once you get decent at the game, its also boring to play with your less-than-decent friends who will constantly get bodied in your lobbies. All people are going to do is get max level and make a new account. I also doubt they'll let you fresh restart with this system but we'll see.

I can't even play apex without seeing the same handful of people in my lobbies during the night. It's such a small community for how big the game is with SBMM. To put it in perspective, Me and my nephew play apex with different groups of people and i've only seen him in 1 of my lobbies and that was due to a apex event without SBMM.


Apex SBMM is honestly so painful. I'm in the same boat,

SBMM makes sense it's just annoying having to sweat your bag off 24/7 instead of being able to casually play. I'm decent at the game but have to take breaks for a few weeks here and there to travel for work and let me tell you it's tough to get back into being so rusty sometimes lol.

OGTrey079Posted:

Mythusala
OGTrey079
Mythusala
OGTrey079
Mythusala Clearly anyone who thinks SBMM is good you are shit at the game. That's why you like it because you have never been shit on playing an OG MP kiddos lol....


Sounds like you get rekt often huh. Why wouldn't you wanna be matched with people in same skill range?


Ya man I totally get wrecked dropping 30 plus kills a game lol. You are such a stupid ass noob who can't even admit you are bad lol... Lets not forget the 30 plus nukes I have got season 3...


You get tilted real ez and just proves my point even more. I don't play COD like that but if your tilted over skilled base.. key word SKILLED then you ain't even good at the game. If you were there wouldn't be a problem with your lobbies.


Why would I be tilted that I am better than shit players who think SBMM is good? Such logical logic lol......


claims aint tilted yet says, "You are such a stupid ass noob who can't even admit you are bad lol". You can't play with good players so youre dogshit it's as simple as that. Essentially your logic is you are trash at the game and don't want to be put up against people who have a higher skill level than you. Everything you say really explains a lot about you lol.

108Posted:

Anyone with half a brain figured as much, it just makes too much financial sense to protect the whales. Oh well, there's much better games out there than a reskin of this years game.

aznpryde64Posted:

I don't really think SBMM is a bad idea in general, it's very well for new players getting into a game, and for the senior players it'll get their adrenaline pumping and palms sweating playing against other sweats,but also wouldn't the hackers all get put into the same lobbies as well? It's a win win for all, I can definitely see the senior players inviting their new to Cod friends, and they absolutely get destroyed and might shy away from it. Or have an option to turn on/off SBMM like crossplay, or separate playlists, like casual and rank, but to me Cod has always been Cod without the SBMM, you win some you lose some, I usually play solo lobbies so its kinda hard when the same skill based players are paired up together with me on the opposite team, in a clan, with mics....... Hopefully they'll implement something that can cater not only to new fans but also old fans.

AnhurPosted:

Not a fan. If it is true i might not even play it as often. Not only does SBMM slow down matchmaking once you get decent at the game, its also boring to play with your less-than-decent friends who will constantly get bodied in your lobbies. All people are going to do is get max level and make a new account. I also doubt they'll let you fresh restart with this system but we'll see.

I can't even play apex without seeing the same handful of people in my lobbies during the night. It's such a small community for how big the game is with SBMM. To put it in perspective, Me and my nephew play apex with different groups of people and i've only seen him in 1 of my lobbies and that was due to a apex event without SBMM.