The Call of Duty Black Ops Cold War Alpha went live yesterday and has been the talk of the town since. The debate surrounding the upcoming CoD title is primarily about the return of the infamous skill-based matchmaking (SBMM) system in the game. The community has been complaining about this feature since Modern Warfare, and it was always going to crop up again with Cold War.
Further reading:?Call of Duty Pros Take a Dig At Cold War SBMM
Almost all the pros who have tried out the Cold War Alpha have expressed their displeasure with SBMM making a return. The reason it is so infuriating is that it matches casual players with those trying to grind and sweat their way up the ladder.
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SBMM makes sense in a ranked match lobby, but players usually play pub matches to kick back and relax with some casual gameplay. Even content creators are looking to have fun and make content rather than having to sweat to a victory.
Now, removing SBMM doesn’t mean players won’t be matched against similarly skilled opponents, but it does reduce the chances significantly.
“What’s the joy in beating people up who play once every two weeks if you’re playing this sh*t full time”: TSM Leffen on SBMM in Call of Duty BOCW
While many pros are speaking against SBMM, TSM’s Leffen posted a Twitter thread recently in support of it. The Super Smash Bros icon implied that the only reason pros and streamers hate it is because they need to boost their ego by defeating players who aren’t as skilled as themselves.
watching people argue that FPS players should in fact, not play people who are as good as them, but people worse than them so they can stroke their ego is so fucking pathetic.
what's the joy in beating people up who play once every two weeks if you're playing this shit full time— TSM Leffen (@TSM_Leffen) September 19, 2020
He even goes on to say:
its very obviously that content creators are trying to trick their audience that you should in fact, not be okay with a system that makes for fair matches and it should instead become favor them so they can make content easier.
it's like watching poor people vote for trump
— TSM Leffen (@TSM_Leffen) September 19, 2020
Not to take sides, but the point of ‘fair matches’ that Leffen talks about matters more in the ranked and hardcore competitive scene. Of course, Leffen received criticism for his comments from other pros, many of whom pointed he is not an FPS player per se.
if you’ve never played FPS games then it makes sense you think this way. so much different than a fighting game.
you can casually play pickup basketball with people of all skill levels. you can’t casually play tennis if the skill level is too different.
— OpTic Hitch (@hitchariide) September 19, 2020
i understand. the 10 year olds argument is not the end goal. that’s where i think a lot of the confusion is.
we just want to casually play the game when it is in a casual environment. idk how else to explain it
— OpTic Hitch (@hitchariide) September 19, 2020
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NRG Davis‘ argument makes complete sense and summarizes what the entire deal around SBMM is all about. However, looks like TSM Leffen blocked him after a while. Coincidence?
the first person to block me on twitter wasn’t an ex girlfriend, a cod troll, an Infinite staff member, or anyone i’ve ever met.
it was super smash brothers melee player Leffen
what a weird day lmfao
— OpTic Hitch (@hitchariide) September 20, 2020
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With all being said, an Alpha build of a game serves the purpose of gathering primary feedback about a product. So, it is possible that Treyarch will take into account this feedback and remove the SBMM feature when the game becomes available for public access.
Call of Duty BOCW has already shown huge potential and those who have tried out the Alpha build have loved it. However, if SBMM makes its way into the final version, it might become a major flaw in an otherwise exciting title.
