Overwatch 2 matchmaking changes to reduce wide MMR differences

In a recent Twitter post, Overwatch 2 Game Director Aaron Keller informed the community about some matchmaking changes. The adjustment would reduce lobbies with wide skill gaps between players. This matchmaking change will reportedly arrive in two parts in two consecutive days.

The Overwatch 2 player base has reported matchmaking issues previously and requested the necessary changes. The developers have finally taken the initiative to address the issue and reduce the disparity for lobbies to level the playing field. After both changes have been implemented, the lobbies are expected to have more similarly skilled players.

Here is a detailed overview of the matchmaking changes for Overwatch 2.

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Overwatch 2 matchmaking update to eliminate large skill gaps in matches

Overwatch 2 has garnered a massive player base since its inception due to its free-to-play nature. A large percentage of this player base has encountered mismatched lobbies, wherein some participants were more skilled than others. This usually results in a snowball performance where the players face defeat and have a bad overall experience.

The unbalanced matchmaking system in Overwatch 2 has been a major concern. The Game Director outlined various changes in a blog post following the Season 3 update.

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Matchmaking balance

Aaron Keller shared his views on the current state of Overwatch 2 shortly after the Season 3 patch went live. The Game Director considers various community discussions and player feedback, citing that the hero adjustments are better than they were in Season 2. However, the matchmaking system can be improved to introduce lobbies with the least possible MMR (Match Making Rating) difference.

The Game Director stated that the Season 3 update would try to optimize the player pairing methods for specific roles. An example of two DPS players was provided where each belonged on the opposite team. Both players' skill levels are matched as closely as possible to create a more evenly matched experience.

The matchmaking changes have caused the queue times to increase in both Ranked and Unranked lobbies. This is a greater concern in squads queuing for Ranked matches where the skill level disparity is greater. However, a few tweaks are already in place to lower the queue times for all lobbies.

The primary request for a balanced matchmaking system arises from Ranked lobbies as players are queued with and against vastly tier-separated players. This issue has also caused a percentage of Overwatch 2 players to complain about facing win and loss streaks. The Game Director assured that this was an unintended side-effect and not to cap players at a system-favored win rate.

The matchmaker has reportedly been adjusted and will receive another update that will attempt to reduce MMR differences in lobbies and queue times. It is important to note that these changes do not guarantee a fix, and some players might still face matchmaking issues.

The matchmaking adjustments will reportedly be deployed on February 28 and March 1. Players should start experiencing changes alongside fairer lobbies with low skill disparity soon enough.

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The Season 3 mid-season patch will bring several hero balances and could introduce new abilities for Roadhog and Sombra. The upcoming update can completely remove the current meta and establish a new one. Follow Sportskeeda for the latest updates and upcoming mid-season patch details.