Activision's Secret Matchmaking Experiment Reveals Players Prefer Skill-Based Matches

A recent study shows that reducing skill-based matchmaking in Call of Duty led to decreased player engagement, affecting 90% of participants.

Activision conducted a covert test on 50% of North American Modern Warfare 3 players, reducing skill-based matchmaking.
Results indicated that over 90% of players with reduced skill-based matchmaking played less frequently.
High-skilled players were less affected by the changes compared to average players.
The study highlighted that random matchmaking benefits top players but adversely impacts average players.
Activision plans to release more detailed analyses on matchmaking in future white papers.