Sledgehammer Games issues a statement regarding Skill Based Matchmaking in Advanced Warfare

Sledgehammer Games’s Michael Condrey has posted a blog post on SHGames’s site talking about the most popular topic in Advanced Warfare – Skill Based Matchmaking. In a lengthy statement, Condrey states that connection is still a priority and that the matchmaking system currently in Advanced Warfare resembles previous Call of Duty titles, but Advanced Warfare does consider player skill while matchmaking to level the playing field.

First, and I can’t stress this enough, player connection to the host always takes priority over skill in the matchmaking process – always, no exceptions. Fast connection to a match hosted on our global dedicated servers is the most important component of our matchmaking system. And yes, to a lesser extent skill as a component of matchmaking is important, too. We believe that it adds a level of fairness in the mechanism for team balance and individual enjoyment. The system we have today is, to all intents and purposes, identical to what Activision has always had in place, with the same matchmaking parameters, as previous Call of Duty titles.

Another issue that has arisen with SBMM is that players get matched with players in other countries. Condrey says that this happens in “fringe” cases, where the player count is lower and differences in which players are playing certain modes.

A few of you have asked, and we’ve also noticed, that some players have experienced fringe cases like being matched with someone in another country. Much of this comes down to the pool of people online and which modes are being played at any point in time.

A big issue that has arisen with SBMM is something called “reverse boosting,” where players intentionally lower their stats to match with lower skill players. Activision and SHGames has been banning players thus far, and Condrey says that they will continue to do so.

It’s not right, and it hurts you and your team’s online experience. Call of Duty is both social and competitive, and we respect and honor that.

Condrey assures us that the team at Sledgehammer Games are continuously optimizing the matchmaking experience and will continue to alter as they get more feedback from fans and more information from their data. He has stated that they will continue to update us on changes and improvements that are made.

SOURCE: SHGames (Condrey’s full statement is available in the link) | [main image via @eLevateKela]