Activision confessedwhich conducted an unannounced experiment in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 (2023) in early 2024. To do this, the developers divided the North American player base into two groups, and in one of them, they carried out “skill deprioritization”: when searching for opponents, less attention was paid to the player’s overall performance.
As the test showed, players exposed to greater freedom in matchmaking began to leave the game. While about 10% of the most experienced players were winning consistently and playing even more, the remaining 90% returned to the game less often than usual.
The company also noted that the experiment only de-prioritized the skill in matchmaking, rather than removing it entirely. If it were removed entirely, the player population could rapidly decline within a few months, which would have negative consequences for all players.
Activision also ran the opposite experiment, tightening the skill match system even further. This backfired: the best players dropped out more often, while the 80% were more likely to return.
Despite the increase in interest from the majority, the change was not implemented as a standard approach, the developers said. Activision assured that it will continue to strive for balance in its approach to matchmaking.
