Summary
Non-disbanding lobbies may be making a return inCall 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 theskill-based matchmaking system inModern 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 ofCall of Dutygames 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. TheModern Warfarereboot did away with this feature in 2019. Since then,Call of Dutyfans 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 itsfrustrations with SBMM issues inModern Warfare 3.
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 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 theModern Warfare 3Experimental Playlist that was just addedto 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 allModern Warfare 3players, a company representative wrote.
The newCall of Dutyentry has technically already started experimenting with more persistent lobbies, but only as part of its MWZ experience. Specifically, one of the bestways wherein theModern Warfare 3Zombies mode improves upon OutbreakfromBlack Ops Cold Waris in its introduction of multiple squads that minimize the chances of lobbies getting disbanded.
Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 (2023)
WHERE TO PLAY
The war has changed. Call of Duty returns with an all-new campaign, modernized versions of classic Multiplayer maps and an open-world PvE Zombies experience. The campaign, a direct sequel to the record-breaking Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II, sees Captain Price and Task Force 141 face off against ultranationalist war criminal Vladimir Makarov as he extends his grasp across the world. In Multiplayer, the 16 maps that launched with Modern Warfare 2 in 2009 return with upgraded graphics, new modes and innovative gameplay features. In Modern Warfare Zombies, team up with other squads for the first time ever as you work together to survive in the largest Zombies map yet
