One of the biggest debates raging in the Call of Duty community is whether or not Call of Duty: Modern Warfare should use skill-based matchmaking, or SBMM. Many Call of Duty community members have spoken out against SBMM, saying that it worsens the overall multiplayer experience. Despite this push-back, SBMM has remained in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare, but fans directing their frustration toward Infinity Ward are not blaming the right people.
It's been confirmed by Michael Condrey, co-founder of Sledgehammer Games and director of both Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare and Call of Duty: WWII, that Activision is the one that makes the decision about SBMM. Condrey stated that he never directed Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare or any other Call of Duty game to have SBMM. He added that Activision is also the one that decides how Call of Duty games will be monetized, not the development studio making the games. "Frustratingly little influence on those corp decisions despite their impact on our games and the COD community."
While many could have assumed this was the case, there are still those who blame the Call of Duty development studios for these unpopular decisions. In fact, some disgruntled fans have lashed out at specific individuals working at Infinity Ward, with some Modern Warfare developers receiving death threats against themselves and their children.
Love it or hate it, Call of Duty SBMM is here to stay, even if Infinity Ward or other developers don't want it in their games. This is no doubt disappointing for some Call of Duty fans, but there's not much that they can do about it at this point. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare was a massive success despite the controversy surrounding SBMM, and so there's no real financial reason for Activision to change its tune.
As for Michael Condrey, some fans may be wondering what he's been up to since departing from Sledgehammer Games. Condrey is leading the new studio 31st Union for 2K Games, where his team is currently working on a brand new IP. Prior to Call of Duty, Condrey worked on games like Dead Space, so it will be interesting to see what 31st Union comes up with for its first project.
Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare is available now for PC, PS3, PS4, Xbox 360, and Xbox One.
