Let’s face it, XDefiant will never be the “Call of Duty killer” that it was claimed to be. CoD is a massive franchise with years of experience under its belt. The odds of XDefiant bringing the multiplayer shooter behemoth to its knees is nearly impossible. In fact, many players have already accepted the fact that this won’t happen and some even claim that those playing will go back to Call of Duty rather soon. Despite not being the prophesized Cod killer, XDefiant does prove one thing and that is that Call of Duty needs more competition. This is shown through the praise that XDefiant has received since its launch. Namely, the praise it has received for its numerous matchmaking settings.
For those who are unaware, Call of Duty uses a system called skill-based matchmaking, or SBMM for short. This system puts players in a lobby that should theoretically be around the same skill level. However, many have criticized this type of matchmaking over the years because it makes everything feel more competitive even in casual lobbies. XDefiant has been being praised for its lack of SBMM outside of its welcome playlist. Many have even taken to Reddit to express that they have been enjoying the way Ubisoft handles matchmaking.
One user stated, “I appreciate so many of the little things, the transparency about the matchmaking system, the simple Crossplay ON/OFF, the INPUT BASED MATCHMAKING – ON/OFF, allowing the user to CHOOSE for whatever is their own personal reasons, who they want to be playing with – things I have been screaming for since 2019 in COD. These are so WELCOMED and appreciated – thank you DEVS!”
In response to this, one user commented, “I think people forget that COD was at its peak when it was competing for players with Battlefield. Ever since BF has fallen off, COD has had no competition and therefore hasn’t had to improve.” Many have agreed with this statement saying that CoD needs the competition to expand its horizons and make the multiplayer system better.
Despite having a rocky start and there being multiple complaints, XDefiant shows that players want something else that isn’t the standard Call of Duty formula that has been used for years. This is the perfect opportunity for CoD to adapt and make its multiplayer better for when Black Ops 6 is released.
