Call of Duty YouTuber Tdawgsmitty has started a petition to remove skill-based matchmaking in the FPS franchise following successful Destiny protests.
The YouTuber has been an outspoken advocate against Call of Duty’s SBMM and has tried to make noise on the issue in a variety of ways. Last week, he began tweeting at Xbox CEO Asha Sharma about the matter every day in hopes of getting her attention. Now, he’s trying a different way. After seeing Destiny fans successfully rally together to get Bungie to resurrect the sci-fi MMO, Tdawgsmitty decided to try to bring Call of Duty fans together in hopes of a similar outcome.
The YouTuber launched a petition which has gained over 500 signatures in roughly an hour. The call to action aims to get SBMM entirely removed from Call of Duty’s unranked lobbies, citing frustrations with the current system and how Activision uses data analysts to develop its matchmaking. Instead, he wants the series to utilize SBMM in the game’s ranked play, where players deliberately choose to have a more competitive experience.
“Former Call of Duty developer Brian Bright recently shared that his team’s work on [the canceled Call of Duty game NX1] focused on ping and region,” reads the description for the petition. “He also stated that Activision eventually began hiring data scientists who worked with its marketing department to push for more skill-based matchmaking. His statement raises serious questions about how matchmaking priorities evolved.
“For players like us, today’s public matches too often feel like the same competitive experience on repeat. Experimenting with a different weapon, relaxing after work, or playing with friends of different skill levels can become frustrating. When every lobby feels like another test, the fun starts to disappear.”
The YouTuber also asked for clearer communication regarding matchmaking and the opportunity for the community to test changes itself. The petition comes roughly a month ahead of Modern Warfare 4’s release, which will utilize a divisive SBMM system that was introduced earlier this summer in Black Ops 7. Some feel that Call of Duty’s SBMM is too punishing and can result in matches that feel consistently unfair, leading to years of frustrations about the franchise’s multiplayer.
Whether a petition can change the mind of Activision remains to be seen, but it’s not entirely out of the question. Bungie opted to return to Destiny 2 after killing it earlier this year. There was extreme backlash to the initial decision and players decided to make their voices heard through online protests, which included players choosing to not support Bungie’s latest game, Marathon. The developer announced that it will be restoring vaulted content and plans to keep supporting the Destiny franchise, leading to an enthusiastic response from fans. Tdawgsmitty cited this as proof that change is possible.
“This Destiny news is huge for gaming,” he said on Twitter. “It shows we can use our voice and effect change. It’s time for the COD community to step up and get some much needed changes to the direction its been headed.”
If Call of Duty fans can rally together by signing petitions, making their voices heard online, and vote with their wallet, it may very well lead to changes. However, Call of Duty is a massive franchise, and as a result, it may be difficult to make the same kind of dent. IGN spoke with Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4’s lead multiplayer developers in August and asked about how the studio is approaching SBMM.
“I think it’s a conversation that we’ll continue to have,” said Jacky Reynolds, Multiplayer Design Lead at Infinity Ward. “I don’t think it’s ever going to be a solved system. There’s always going to be new iterations that can be made. I think at the end of the day, yeah, we want players to be able to play and have fun. I think that we want to also make sure that they have variety in their matches. I think it’s a conversation that we should continue to have. It’s also worth mentioning that Joe and I aren’t directly in charge of matchmaking. We are focused on building cool stuff, but I think we’re looking forward to seeing how it all shakes out.”
Cade Onder
Freelance Writer
Cade Onder is a freelancer for IGN’s news team. He covers all things entertainment, including gaming, film, and more. You can find him on Twitter @Cade_Onder.
