Highlights

  • Sledgehammer is considering bringing back non-disbanding lobbies in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3. It will begin testing the feature in a future update.
  • The test will likely be featured in the recently introduced MW3 Experimental Playlist.
  • While there is no confirmation that permanent lobbies will come to MW3 permanently, many players remain hopeful that such a move could lead the series to pivot away from skill-based matchmaking, which they believe is at odds with non-disbanding lobbies.

Non-disbanding lobbies may be making a return in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3, with Sledgehammer confirming it will soon start testing this multiplayer change that would bring its latest shooter closer in line with some classic entries in the franchise. Such a move could potentially even impact the skill-based matchmaking system in Modern Warfare 3, though its SBMM effects and the overall outcome of this planned experiment remain far from certain.

Permanent lobbies have been a staple feature of Call of Duty games up until recent years. Much like their name suggests, these lobbies attempt to persist between matches by merely reshuffling team compositions and adding new players only if any existing ones drop out. The Modern Warfare reboot did away with this feature in 2019. Since then, Call of Duty fans have been consistently complaining about disbanding lobbies and matchmaking in each new franchise entry. This year's game proved to be no exception to that trend, as a vocal portion of the fandom has already taken to social media to voice its frustrations with SBMM issues in Modern Warfare 3.

Call of Duty Modern Warfare 3 COD MW3 Zombies mode car action with game logo
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Permanent Lobbies Are Coming to MW3, But Maybe Not Permanently

And while it remains to be seen whether those complaints result in any direct SBMM changes, the developers have now confirmed they are considering a return of non-disbanding lobbies. A Sledgehammer representative said as much in a recent Reddit AMA, revealing that "a future game update" will see the studio begin testing non-disbanding lobbies in order to gauge the effects of such a major change to the game's multiplayer experience.

While the company has yet to confirm that, it's likely that permanent lobbies will hence eventually be featured in the Modern Warfare 3 Experimental Playlist that was just added to the game on November 16 with the precise purpose of helping the developers try out various gameplay changes. Hundreds of players welcomed Sledgehammer's plans for permanent lobby testing, with some of them immediately proceeding to speculate how non-disbanding lobbies could signal a pivot away from SBMM because they perceive the two to be at odds with each other.

Sledgehammer, for its part, remained non-committal about the prospects of making this upcoming return of permanent lobbies permanent. Even in the event that its future tests go well, the developer will merely "explore" the possibility of rolling out non-disbanding lobbies to all Modern Warfare 3 players, a company representative wrote.

The new Call of Duty entry has technically already started experimenting with more persistent lobbies, but only as part of its MWZ experience. Specifically, one of the best ways wherein the Modern Warfare 3 Zombies mode improves upon Outbreak from Black Ops Cold War is in its introduction of multiple squads that minimize the chances of lobbies getting disbanded.