Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 is drawing ever closer to its full release, with fans being more than eager to get back into the game following the recent Beta weekends for customers who have pre-ordered the title. Thanks to the Beta, fans are now intimately familiar with how the game will operate at launch, concerning both positive and negative elements of the current game state.
It is no secret that matchmaking within the CoD franchise has long been a source of controversy, and it appears that Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 will be no different. With gameplay elements such as skill-based matchmaking re-writing the casual CoD experience, it is clear that a dedicated ranked playlist is needed moving forward in the title, and the franchise as a whole.
The Basics of Gameplay
With an ambitious campaign that carries on from the events of 2019's Modern Warfare, as well as a litany of multiplayer modes, the upcoming Modern Warfare 2 is set to be one of the most expansive franchise installments in Call of Duty history. Possessing its own visceral and highly-detailed multiplayer mode, Modern Warfare 2 will launch fairly closely to the free-to-play Warzone 2, with progression tracking across both titles.
Of course, the multiplayer in any Call of Duty title is one of the biggest talking points of the game, and Modern Warfare 2 is no different. Given the fact that the game is already breaking franchise norms by having a two-year uncontested life cycle within the franchise, the game is under intense amounts of scrutiny to get gameplay right from the offset.
The recent Beta for Modern Warfare 2 was the largest in the franchise's history, meaning an unprecedented amount of discourse and criticism has stemmed from it. One of the most prevalent of these critiques was regarding the level of matchmaking that is currently in the game. With the looming presence of skill-based matchmaking seemingly still dominating the Call of Duty formula, many fans are calling for a dedicated ranked playlist to be added to the game before it launches.
Skill-based Matchmaking in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2
It would be remiss when discussing the need for a dedicated ranked playlist in Modern Warfare 2 without first outlining the implications and recent history of skill-based matchmaking within Call of Duty as a whole. Skill-based matchmaking, or SBMM, is a growing practice in online games which fosters an environment in which players only come up against opposing teams of a similar skill level to them.
The ethos behind SBMM is that it aids more casual or lower-skilled players by ensuring they do not come against higher-level opponents, but it has been met with a sustained backlash within the Call of Duty context and beyond. For above-average players, SBMM has been argued to turn every online match into an extremely competitive ordeal that demands undivided attention and tactics.
By consistently partaking in such similarly skilled lobbies, many players feel forced to engage in unrewarding metas just to compete, ruining any semblance of casual gameplay in what was a historically arcade-like online shooter. For many players, the sustained presence of SBMM greatly reduces the longevity of their overall play-time for newer titles, with any time they do dedicate to a game being an unsatisfying and high-stakes experience. With SBMM playing a clear role in the recent Beta for Modern Warfare 2, the implementation of a dedicated ranked playlist could help re-unify the fan base and preserve some of the more casual elements of the title.
A Dedicated Ranked Playlist in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2
An element of Call of Duty's older online identity that has fallen to the wayside in recent years is the concept of ranked play. Historically, as seen in the popular League Play on the well-received Black Ops 2, there was a dedicated space for more competitive gamers to test their might against opponents of similar skill levels, with each player vying to rise as far up in the rankings and leader boards as they possibly could.
While ranked play elements have periodically made appearances in franchise installments like Call of Duty WW2 and even the recent Call of Duty: Vanguard, the reduced capacity in which the modes now exist in the franchise make them unpopulated and unrewarding. The concept of ranked play in gaming is arguably as popular as it ever has been, with massive online games such as Overwatch, Rainbow Six Siege, and Rocket League priding themselves on seasonal rankings that foster a consistently engaging and competitive gameplay cycle. This only makes it all the more confusing as to why Call of Duty has not capitalized on this growing industry norm, with the upcoming Modern Warfare 2 being the perfect opportunity to do so.
If the upcoming title were to introduce ranked play, it would offer a playlist in which the most competitive players within the game could exist away from the clamor and debate of SBMM, while providing more casual players a much more relaxed and decidedly laid-back overall experience within the core public playlists of the title. While also propelling the game to compete with the ranked systems of its most popular peers, it would surely be a huge benefit to Modern Warfare 2 and Infinity Ward if a dedicated ranked playlist were to be added to the game before launch.
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 launches on October 28 for PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.