Nadeshot asks why Call of Duty has SBMM but doesn’t have ranked play

Keshav Bhat

Former Call of Duty pro player and 100 Thieves CEO Nadeshot today posted a tweet calling out Call of Duty developers over having skill based matchmaking in their titles.

SBMM has been a popular discussion in the overall gaming community over the last year with many major titles fully embracing it into their games as it helps the larger casual player base and keeps them engaged longer in their titles but it hurts hardcore dedicated players that want to have a more ‘relaxed’ experience. Call of Duty has a large casual player base, and it seems with Modern Warfare, the devs are catering more to their experience overall.

In a tweet, Nadeshot asked why the devs go through all this hard work to put SBMM into Call of Duty and then not work to implement a ranked play that makes it separate and rewarding.

Many fans have asked Infinity Ward for information on the matchmaking system in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare. Several tests from YouTubers like Drift0r and TheXclusiveAce have shown that the game does in fact have SBMM but it still does prioritize connection.

One of the things Infinity Ward told us during a studio visit in February is that larger player count modes in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare, including Warzone, prioritizes ping and connection over anything else.

In a Warzone tournament today, Nadeshot played alongside CouRage and Cloakzy. Watching their streams, they grew frustrated as they continued to dominate with 40+ kill games to then start struggling dramatically in future matches as it seemed like the matchmaking started to match them against stronger players throughout, making it harder to secure wins and kills. Just a few games earlier, it was almost a pub stopping.

Infinity Ward and Activision do not comment on the matchmaking system on record and have refused to explain how the overall system works officially.