Many games have skill-based matchmaking, but few strike a balance that keeps players happy. Of course, that doesn't mean that we're correct every time we blame a loss on the matchmaking, but it's definitely a formula that's easy to get wrong.
Take Marvel Rivals, for example. While it was near-universally adored at launch, players have quickly become frustrated with the competitive mode, arguing that the matchmaking system is busted, which isn't helped by the fact that there are no placement matches. Instead, everyone starts at the bottom and has to climb.
Overwatch 2 has placement matches, which already take some of the better players out of lower ranks, but that isn't all that goes into the formula. Now, Blizzard has pulled back the curtain on how it pairs us up with teams and opponents in Overwatch 2, and there's a lot more to consider than you'd think.
This blog post was broken down by Esports Insider and explains how we end up in our Overwatch 2 games. First of all, everyone has a hidden matchmaking rating (MMR). We only see the rank, Diamond 1, Platinum 3, etc, but the game actually has a more specific score that it...