With Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 nearing release, the wait to find out how this game will land for its player base grows intense. As we’ve said time and again, it’s one of the most important releases in this series’ history for a multitude of reasons.
However, many players already feel slightly frustrated that skill-based matchmaking, which drove many people away even from XDefiant, will be maintained in upcoming title.
Skill-based matchmaking is one of the systems that works or doesn’t on a case-by-case basis. Historically, though, it has almost always been seen as hampering a multiplayer shooter’s dynamism and fun factor, locking players to a rigid progression route.
This stands especially true for games in Actvision’s juggernaut series. So, you can expect the kind of collective groan the company was the recipient of when they doubled down on the system for Black Ops 6, explaining their reasoning as follows:
Admittedly, the system is more of a safeguard for new and casual players than anything, ensuring that a player’s engagement with the game remains high at all times.
After all, the idea of regularly facing tough opponents, leaving little room for experimentation or casual play, sounds a little unbearable.
That said, though, XDefiant openly rejected the idea of SBMM, promising a more free-form matchmaking system. Although this came with its own set of issues, it was seen as an overall win.
Due to SBMM’s progression system, casual players are almost always destined to reach a bottleneck at some point in their playtime, which leads to an unbelievable spike in difficulty. Not having the system sidesteps this problem.
So, when Activision announced the return of SBMM for its upcoming game, disappointment spread across the community. Most were concerned that it would lead to the same problems that plagued recent titles—overly competitive matches that took away from the casual fun that this series was once known for.
So, SBMM can be problematic, that much is clear – but what can Activision do to curb any frustrations that may come its way in the future? People are already onboard with the game overall, as shown by the Beta, so the easiest step is to simply give them what they want.
The best solution at the moment would be to introduce a separate game mode for players seeking an environment free of skill-based matchmaking. That way, all sides of the Call of Duty community would happily jump in on the game and stay engaged for longer.
Not only would this allow all game players to play without a sense of competition, but it would also preserve SBMM for those who prefer its progression. In an era when games like XDefiant have openly rejected the system, such an option would cater to both sides of the debate.
To reiterate, Black Ops 6 one of the most important entries in the franchise’s history, with both Xbox and post-acquisition banking on its success.
With so much at stake, it’s clear that they need to do everything in their power to ensure the game’s success—if “everything” includes providing more flexibility in matchmaking, then they might as well implement it ASAP.
With all that said, what are your thoughts on this? Should Call of Duty do away with skill-based matchmaking completely? Let us know in the comments below.
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