Modern Warfare 2 players call for better SBMM communication after Apex Legends overhaul

Hamza Khalid
Modern Warfare 2 operators fighting

Modern Warfare 2 players are calling for better community engagement from the developers after Respawn Entertainment revealed to their players how SBMM works in Apex Legends.

Modern Warfare 2 brought plenty of new content for Call of Duty players to dig into, including a new Gunsmith system for weapon progression and game-changing water physics that the devs have called the best in the series’ history.

However, fans have criticized the Modern Warfare 2 developers for their lack of communication with the community, and complaints increased after the Apex Legends devs went over how skill-based matchmaking (SBMM) works in the game.

Reddit user ‘oALEXtheGREATo’ shared Respawn’s tweet explaining Apex Legends’ SBMM system in the Modern Warfare 2 subreddit. In this tweet, the devs go into a deep dive that covers what players need to know about the system.

While the developers didn’t explicitly say it, Modern Warfare 2 also features SBMM. The Redditor wrote: “Imagine if we had communication [or] community engagement like this from CoD devs.”

Many of the commenters agreed with the Redditor, and one user stated: “I don’t think Activision and their studios will ever disclose how their matchmaking works because it will make the public angry if we find out.”

One of the commenters expressed their frustration with the Modern Warfare 2 devs by writing: “There will always be some people who complain. That doesn’t mean you treat everyone who bought your game like s**t. Some communication and transparency aren’t asking for a lot.”

While some players were skeptical about the honesty in Respawn’s statement, they still preferred it over zero communication, with one player explaining: “I’ll take false honesty over none. At least they had to make an effort to BS a statement vs saying nothing at all.”

Modern Warfare 2 santa sena border crossing map

Another player added: “I’d agree. Anything is better than utter silence to me.” Some of the commenters claimed that it’s ironic that the Apex Legends team includes former Call of Duty developers.

SBMM is meant to throw players together in matches based on similar skills. This feature has been controversial as streamers and top players feel it punishes them for improving at the game by giving them more difficult lobbies. Many argue that the game should mix players of all skills together in every match.

The general consensus in the Reddit thread was that communication with the community can help improve Modern Warfare 2. It remains to be seen if the developers are planning to respond to these complaints.


For more Modern Warfare 2 content, check out when Season 2 is set to begin as well as this Sniper scope that comes with a free “mini flashbang.”

Image credits: Activision