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Skill-based matchmaking
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<h2 id="history">History</h2> <p>A common rating system in <a href="/facts/Chess/47ykvkHF">chess</a> is the <a href="/facts/Elo_rating_system/elxHsGzk">Elo rating system</a>, developed by <a href="/facts/Arpad_Elo/B4Vl0l57">Arpad Elo</a>. Former <a href="/facts/International_Chess_Federation/8oWF3499">International Chess Federation</a> president <a href="/facts/Florencio_Campomanes/DWxa949z">Florencio Campomanes</a> described it as an "inseparable partner to high-level chess".<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:1" href="#fn:1"><sup>1</sup></a> In 2006, <a href="/facts/Microsoft/nGIDDXdx">Microsoft</a> researchers proposed a skill-based rating system using <a href="/facts/Bayesian_inference/tEpK3zLx">Bayesian inference</a> and deployed it on the <a href="/facts/Xbox_Live/mRsUYTYf">Xbox Live</a> network, then one of the largest deployments of a Bayesian inference algorithm.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:2" href="#fn:2"><sup>2</sup></a> The researchers were displeased with the ranking system in the beta of <i><a href="/facts/Halo_2/Ie3k22lQ">Halo 2</a></i> (2004).<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:3" href="#fn:3"><sup>3</sup></a> By the time <i>Halo 2</i> launched, it was using TrueSkill.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:4" href="#fn:4"><sup>4</sup></a> </p><p>The term skill-based matchmaking first appeared in a 2008 interview with game designer <a href="/facts/John_Carmack/PKRfqBQn">John Carmack</a> in which he emphasized its importance in <i><a href="/facts/Quake_Live/QuF4CW1G">Quake Live</a></i> (2010). Upon setting up an account with <a href="/facts/Id_Software/NsbHCMsV">id Software</a>, the game will ask the player for their skill level and judge accordingly depending on their performance from that point forward.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:5" href="#fn:5"><sup>5</sup></a> The presence—or lack thereof—of skill-based matchmaking became a point of contention. During the development of <i><a href="/facts/Dota_2/BD8DugTD">Dota 2</a></i> (2013), <a href="/facts/Valve_Software/zlRE5vJL">Valve Software</a> believed that the barrier to entry could be solved with, among other things, skill-based matchmaking through its <a href="/facts/Steamworks/nrpWwLA9">Steamworks</a> service;<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:6" href="#fn:6"><sup>6</sup></a> when <i><a href="/facts/Call_of_Duty%3a_Black_Ops/xdoVD6H0">Call of Duty: Black Ops</a></i> (2010) developer <a href="/facts/Treyarch/QTUP8wSd">Treyarch</a> was asked why the game wouldn't include skill-based matchmaking unlike <i><a href="/facts/Halo_3/SuTzAvK2">Halo 3</a></i> (2007), multiplayer design director <a href="/facts/David_Vonderhaar/BrTq8F6y">David Vonderhaar</a> said that speed was "more important than anything else".<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:7" href="#fn:7"><sup>7</sup></a> </p> <h2 id="description">Description</h2> <p>Team-based, competitive games such as <i><a href="/facts/League_of_Legends/zBdwWzjN">League of Legends</a></i> (2009), <i><a href="/facts/Counter-Strike%3a_Global_Offensive/dLb5NQrJ">Counter-Strike: Global Offensive</a></i> (2012), <i><a href="/facts/Dota_2/BD8DugTD">Dota 2</a></i> (2013), and <i><a href="/facts/Overwatch_(video_game)/KjfuwewL">Overwatch</a></i> (2016) benefit from skill-based matchmaking. In contrast, <i><a href="/facts/Call_of_Duty%3a_Black_Ops_II/FjI9UwvX">Call of Duty: Black Ops II</a></i> (2012)—a game that primarily focuses on single-player accomplishments—does not benefit from skill-based matchmaking.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:8" href="#fn:8"><sup>8</sup></a> <a href="/facts/Treyarch/QTUP8wSd">Treyarch</a>, who developed <i>Call of Duty: Black Ops II</i>, consciously queued players exclusively using <a href="/facts/Ping_(video_games)/kb0QfGzX">ping</a> and <a href="/facts/Network_latency/6Bjhn30H">latency</a>, in a subversion of industry standards at the time.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:9" href="#fn:9"><sup>9</sup></a> </p> <h3>Queues</h3> <p>In skill-based matchmaking, queue design focuses on how to divide parties into appropriate skill groups. In contrast to <i><a href="/facts/StarCraft_II/7t3Be8RR">StarCraft II</a></i> (2010), which focuses on player-on-player action, <a href="/facts/Blizzard_Entertainment/aK5GGcN7">Blizzard Entertainment</a>'s <i><a href="/facts/Heroes_of_the_Storm/WDHfRMtq">Heroes of the Storm</a></i> (2015) is a team-based game. The <i>Heroes of the Storm</i> matchmaker aims to have players win at least half of the games that they play. The game's matchmaker also aims to pair coordinated teams with other coordinated teams in order to avoid an unfair communication advantage.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:10" href="#fn:10"><sup>10</sup></a> According to game director <a href="/facts/Ben_Brode/R98C1Tpj">Ben Brode</a>, <i><a href="/facts/Hearthstone/Kgf88AQb">Hearthstone</a></i> (2014) maintains a separate pool of new players. Players remain in the pool until they win ten games or obtain two legendary minions. </p> <h3>Player rating model</h3> <p>The skill rating of a player is their ability to win a match based on aggregate data. Various models have emerged to achieve this. Mark Glickman implemented skill volatility into the <a href="/facts/Glicko_rating_system/7MKeQeK7">Glicko rating system</a>.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:11" href="#fn:11"><sup>11</sup></a> In 2008, researchers at <a href="/facts/Microsoft/nGIDDXdx">Microsoft</a> extended <a href="/facts/TrueSkill/3I1Q1Irt">TrueSkill</a> for two-player games by describing a number for a player's ability to force draws.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:12" href="#fn:12"><sup>12</sup></a> Variability in map, character, and server effects have been considered in at least two research papers.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:13" href="#fn:13"><sup>13</sup></a><a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:14" href="#fn:14"><sup>14</sup></a> In 2016, two <a href="/facts/Cornell_University/FGyXuXeI">Cornell University</a> graduates modeled skill rating as a vector of numbers, showing "substantial intransitivity".<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:15" href="#fn:15"><sup>15</sup></a> </p> <h2 id="reception">Reception</h2> <p>Skill-based matchmaking is a controversial practice. In <i><a href="/facts/Call_of_Duty%3a_Warzone/pzYETndb">Call of Duty: Warzone</a></i> (2020), streamers of the game often seek out "bot lobbies"—lobbies with less-skilled players. <i><a href="/facts/The_Washington_Post/dRvzvqJc">The Washington Post</a></i> compared the practice to "<a href="/facts/LeBron_James/Xv3hTFum">LeBron James</a> looking to join pickup games at the local <a href="/facts/YMCA/rfcxcX60">YMCA</a>". <i>Call of Duty: Warzone</i> players who have spoken out against the game's use of skill-based matchmaking include <a href="/facts/100_Thieves/NY2ocxxA">100 Thieves</a> CEO <a href="/facts/Nadeshot/vKJbn4b0">Nadeshot</a>, former professional <i>Counter-Strike: Global Offensive</i> player <a href="/facts/Shroud_(gamer)/STWCx8qX">Shroud</a>, and 100 Thieves co-owner <a href="/facts/CouRageJD/e7kzKDXz">CouRage</a>. Competitive <i>Call of Duty: Warzone</i> player HusKerrs wrote that high-skilled players must "sweat or try hard" in order to create engaging content.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:16" href="#fn:16"><sup>16</sup></a> Streamer <a href="/facts/TimTheTatman/usytLgJP">TimTheTatman</a> refused to stream <i><a href="/facts/Call_of_Duty%3a_Modern_Warfare_II/F1E2QGgQ">Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II</a></i> (2022) upon discovering that it would implement skill-based matchmaking.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:17" href="#fn:17"><sup>17</sup></a> </p><p>In February 2023, <i><a href="/facts/Destiny_2/zmn07HnS">Destiny 2</a></i> (2017) introduced skill-based matchmaking. Higher-skilled players subsequently discovered a way to enter lobbies with lower-skilled players, resulting in an outcry from the community.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:18" href="#fn:18"><sup>18</sup></a> </p> <h3>Citations</h3> <h3>Works cited</h3> <ul><li>Chen, Shou; Joachims, Thorsten (2016). <a href="https://www.cs.cornell.edu/~shuochen/pubs/wsdm16_chen.pdf">"Modeling Intransitivity in Matchup and Comparison Data"</a> (PDF). <i>Proceedings of the Ninth ACM International Conference on Web Search and Data Mining</i>. pp. 227–236. <a href="/facts/Doi_(identifier)/muM9Etpq">doi</a>:<a href="https://doi.org/10.1145%2F2835776.2835787">10.1145/2835776.2835787</a>. <a href="/facts/ISBN_(identifier)/15AdSPa9">ISBN</a> 978-1-4503-3716-8. Retrieved June 1, 2023.</li> <li>Chen, Zhengxing; Sun, Yizhou; El-nasr, Magy; Nguyen, Truong-Huy (2016). <a href="https://www.khoury.northeastern.edu/published_research/player-skill-decomposition-in-multiplayer-online-battle-arenas/">"Player skill decomposition in multiplayer online battle arenas"</a>. <i>Meaningful Play</i>. <a href="/facts/ArXiv_(identifier)/H6EtgnBe">arXiv</a>:<a href="https://arxiv.org/abs/1702.06253">1702.06253</a>. Retrieved June 1, 2023.</li> <li>Dangauthier, Pierre; Herbrich, Ralf; Minka, Tom; Graepel, Thore (January 2008). <a href="https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/research/wp-content/uploads/2008/01/NIPS2007_0931.pdf">"TrueSkill Through Time: Revisiting the History of Chess"</a> (PDF). <i><a href="/facts/Advances_in_Neural_Information_Processing_Systems/YlhI2Atl">Advances in Neural Information Processing Systems</a></i>. Retrieved June 1, 2023.</li> <li><a href="/facts/Arpad_Elo/B4Vl0l57">Elo, Arpad</a> (1986). <i>The Rating of Chess Players, Past and Present</i>. Arco. <a href="/facts/ISBN_(identifier)/15AdSPa9">ISBN</a> 0-668-04721-6.</li> <li><a href="/facts/Mark_Glickman/7MKeQeK7">Glickman, Mark</a> (2001). <a href="https://www.glicko.net/research/dpcmsv.pdf">"Dynamic paired comparison models with stochastic variances"</a> (PDF). <i><a href="/facts/Journal_of_Applied_Statistics/ualvDECt">Journal of Applied Statistics</a></i>. 28 (6): 673. <a href="/facts/Bibcode_(identifier)/9HtdQSGB">Bibcode</a>:<a href="https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2001JApSt..28..673G">2001JApSt..28..673G</a>. <a href="/facts/Doi_(identifier)/muM9Etpq">doi</a>:<a href="https://doi.org/10.1080%2F02664760120059219">10.1080/02664760120059219</a>. <a href="/facts/S2CID_(identifier)/ldJsHa2Y">S2CID</a> <a href="https://api.semanticscholar.org/CorpusID:16101322">16101322</a>. Retrieved June 1, 2023.</li> <li>Herbrich, Ralf; Minka, Tom; Graepel, Thore (2007). <a href="https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/research/wp-content/uploads/2007/01/NIPS2006_0688.pdf">"TrueSkill: A Bayesian Skill Rating System"</a> (PDF). <i><a href="/facts/Advances_in_Neural_Information_Processing_Systems/YlhI2Atl">Advances in Neural Information Processing Systems</a></i>. 20. Retrieved June 1, 2023.</li> <li>Menke, Joshua; Reese, Shane; Martinez, Tony (2006). <a href="https://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/doc/10.1.1.533.1843">"Hierarchical models for estimating individual ratings from group competitions"</a>. <i><a href="/facts/American_Statistical_Association/QzF1h4Dx">American Statistical Association</a></i>. Retrieved June 1, 2023.</li> <li>Wallner, Günter, ed. (2019). <i>Data Analytics Applications in Gaming and Entertainment</i>. <a href="/facts/CRC_Press/duTuH4hz">CRC Press</a>. <a href="/facts/ISBN_(identifier)/15AdSPa9">ISBN</a> 9781000001860. <ul><li>Zook, Alex. "Chapter 3: Building Matchmaking Systems". In Wallner (2019).</li></ul></li></ul> <h2 id="references">References</h2> <ol> <li id="fn:1"><p>Elo 1986, p. x. - Elo, Arpad (1986). The Rating of Chess Players, Past and Present. Arco. ISBN 0-668-04721-6. <a href="#fnref:1" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:2"><p>Herbrich, Minka & Graepel 2007, p. 7. - Herbrich, Ralf; Minka, Tom; Graepel, Thore (2007). "TrueSkill: A Bayesian Skill Rating System" (PDF). Advances in Neural Information Processing Systems. 20. Retrieved June 1, 2023. <a href="https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/research/wp-content/uploads/2007/01/NIPS2006_0688.pdf" target="_blank">https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/research/wp-content/uploads/2007/01/NIPS2006_0688.pdf</a> <a href="#fnref:2" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:3"><p>Perry, Douglass (October 28, 2005). "Live in the Next Generation: The TrueSkill System". IGN. Retrieved June 1, 2023. <a href="https://www.ign.com/articles/2005/10/28/live-in-the-next-generation-the-trueskill-system" target="_blank">https://www.ign.com/articles/2005/10/28/live-in-the-next-generation-the-trueskill-system</a> <a href="#fnref:3" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:4"><p>Makedonski, Brett (October 31, 2014). "Master Chief Collection's multiplayer ranking system is just like Halo 2's". Destructoid. Retrieved June 1, 2023. <a href="https://www.destructoid.com/master-chief-collections-multiplayer-ranking-system-is-just-like-halo-2s/" target="_blank">https://www.destructoid.com/master-chief-collections-multiplayer-ranking-system-is-just-like-halo-2s/</a> <a href="#fnref:4" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:5"><p>Chan, Norman (June 24, 2008). "Carmack frees Quake". GamesRadar+. Retrieved June 1, 2023. <a href="https://www.gamesradar.com/carmack-frees-quake/2/" target="_blank">https://www.gamesradar.com/carmack-frees-quake/2/</a> <a href="#fnref:5" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:6"><p>Biessener, Adam (October 13, 2010). "Valve's New Game Announced, Detailed: Dota 2". Game Informer. Archived from the original on October 16, 2010. Retrieved June 1, 2023. <a href="https://www.gameinformer.com/b/features/archive/2010/10/13/dota-2-announced-details.aspx" target="_blank">https://www.gameinformer.com/b/features/archive/2010/10/13/dota-2-announced-details.aspx</a> <a href="#fnref:6" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:7"><p>Grant, Christopher (September 3, 2010). "Call of Duty: Black Ops multiplayer takes aim at cheaters, looks to recruit more players". Engadget. Retrieved June 1, 2023. <a href="https://www.engadget.com/2010-09-03-call-of-duty-black-ops-multiplayer-takes-aim-at-cheaters.html" target="_blank">https://www.engadget.com/2010-09-03-call-of-duty-black-ops-multiplayer-takes-aim-at-cheaters.html</a> <a href="#fnref:7" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:8"><p>Zook 2019, p. 36. <a href="#fnref:8" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:9"><p>Petitte, Omri (October 26, 2012). "Call of Duty: Black Ops 2 uses ping and latency "exclusively" for multiplayer matchmaking". PC Gamer. Retrieved June 1, 2023. <a href="https://www.pcgamer.com/black-ops-2-matchmaking-ping-latency/" target="_blank">https://www.pcgamer.com/black-ops-2-matchmaking-ping-latency/</a> <a href="#fnref:9" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:10"><p>Valenta, Nate (August 8, 2014). "Matchmaking Design in Heroes of the Storm". Blizzard Entertainment. Retrieved June 1, 2023. <a href="https://news.blizzard.com/en-us/heroes-of-the-storm/15145471/matchmaking-design-in-heroes-of-the-storm" target="_blank">https://news.blizzard.com/en-us/heroes-of-the-storm/15145471/matchmaking-design-in-heroes-of-the-storm</a> <a href="#fnref:10" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:11"><p>Glickman 2001, p. 673-689. - Glickman, Mark (2001). "Dynamic paired comparison models with stochastic variances" (PDF). Journal of Applied Statistics. 28 (6): 673. Bibcode:2001JApSt..28..673G. doi:10.1080/02664760120059219. S2CID 16101322. Retrieved June 1, 2023. <a href="https://www.glicko.net/research/dpcmsv.pdf" target="_blank">https://www.glicko.net/research/dpcmsv.pdf</a> <a href="#fnref:11" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:12"><p>Dangauthier et al. 2008, p. 931-938. - Dangauthier, Pierre; Herbrich, Ralf; Minka, Tom; Graepel, Thore (January 2008). "TrueSkill Through Time: Revisiting the History of Chess" (PDF). Advances in Neural Information Processing Systems. Retrieved June 1, 2023. <a href="https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/research/wp-content/uploads/2008/01/NIPS2007_0931.pdf" target="_blank">https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/research/wp-content/uploads/2008/01/NIPS2007_0931.pdf</a> <a href="#fnref:12" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:13"><p>Menke, Reese & Martinez 2006, p. 1. - Menke, Joshua; Reese, Shane; Martinez, Tony (2006). "Hierarchical models for estimating individual ratings from group competitions". American Statistical Association. Retrieved June 1, 2023. <a href="https://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/doc/10.1.1.533.1843" target="_blank">https://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/doc/10.1.1.533.1843</a> <a href="#fnref:13" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:14"><p>Chen et al. 2016, p. 1. - Chen, Zhengxing; Sun, Yizhou; El-nasr, Magy; Nguyen, Truong-Huy (2016). "Player skill decomposition in multiplayer online battle arenas". Meaningful Play. arXiv:1702.06253. Retrieved June 1, 2023. <a href="https://www.khoury.northeastern.edu/published_research/player-skill-decomposition-in-multiplayer-online-battle-arenas/" target="_blank">https://www.khoury.northeastern.edu/published_research/player-skill-decomposition-in-multiplayer-online-battle-arenas/</a> <a href="#fnref:14" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:15"><p>Chen & Joachims 2016, p. 1. - Chen, Shou; Joachims, Thorsten (2016). "Modeling Intransitivity in Matchup and Comparison Data" (PDF). Proceedings of the Ninth ACM International Conference on Web Search and Data Mining. pp. 227–236. doi:10.1145/2835776.2835787. ISBN 978-1-4503-3716-8. Retrieved June 1, 2023. <a href="https://www.cs.cornell.edu/~shuochen/pubs/wsdm16_chen.pdf" target="_blank">https://www.cs.cornell.edu/~shuochen/pubs/wsdm16_chen.pdf</a> <a href="#fnref:15" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:16"><p>Davison, Ethan (May 27, 2022). "Video game developers want fair online games. Some players really don't". The Washington Post. Retrieved June 1, 2023. <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/video-games/2022/05/27/skill-based-matchmaking/" target="_blank">https://www.washingtonpost.com/video-games/2022/05/27/skill-based-matchmaking/</a> <a href="#fnref:16" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:17"><p>Winslow, Levi (October 27, 2022). "Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 Fans Can't Believe They Have To Play In Fair Matches". Kotaku. Retrieved June 1, 2023. <a href="https://kotaku.com/call-of-duty-modern-warfare-2-cod-sbmm-skill-based-1849710613" target="_blank">https://kotaku.com/call-of-duty-modern-warfare-2-cod-sbmm-skill-based-1849710613</a> <a href="#fnref:17" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:18"><p>Kelly, Paul (February 15, 2023). "Destiny 2 PvP exploit sees skill-based matchmaking completely negated". PCGamesN. Retrieved June 1, 2023. <a href="https://www.pcgamesn.com/destiny-2/pvp-exploit" target="_blank">https://www.pcgamesn.com/destiny-2/pvp-exploit</a> <a href="#fnref:18" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> </ol>