What is EOMM in Call of Duty?

Since Modern Warfare 3 was released on November 10th, players have been complaining about the game’s skill-based matchmaking engine being ‘too strong’. But there are others who are suggesting that it’s not SBMM that’s hampering the community, but ‘EOMM’ – Engagement Optimised Matchmaking. It’s not a term that most players are familiar with, but even by taking the term at face value, you can get an idea of what it is. Let’s take a closer look at what EOMM is.

It’s worth stressing that it’s disputed as to whether or not EOMM exists in COD. It hasn’t been confirmed and it’s all based on conjecture, but some insiders have, in the past, leant on the idea of this engagement-driven engine existing in Call of Duty. It could linger beneath the surface, working to identify what makes a player tick and curating their session behind the scenes, getting ‘the most out of’ the community, player by player.

What is EOMM in COD?

Engagement Optimised Matchmaking is an algorithm-based mechanic that assumedly manipulates matchmaking to keep a player engaged for as long as possible. It’s all just a concept that’s being lobbied by players, but the general assumption is that it identifies what players like and dislike, feeding them matches and opponents that are ‘tailored’ to keep them playing, even when they’d usually want to quit the game.

It’s the reason why ‘we keep going back to it’, people claim.

Here’s an example of how EOMM works in Call of Duty (or how it could work):

Let’s say you’re being punished, and three or four games in a row, you’re at the bottom of the scoreboard and you can’t gain any ground. EOMM will identify that as your ‘breaking point’, and in the next game, it’ll throw you in a lobby with ‘easier’ opponents, making you more likely to land a win and experience that adrenaline surge that comes with a great game. At that point, you might get put back into the grinder, get chewed up in the next game, and the cycle begins anew – but it’s getting tweaked with each round.

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Is it a Conspiracy Theory?

There are some wild claims circulating that EOMM in Call of Duty impacts everything from hit registration to health regeneration, and from aim assist to movement speed. If you’re terrible at shooting straight, EOMM might adjust to strengthen your aim assist, making you feel like a pro player for one round. Then, you’ll say ‘Wow, I’m getting better – I’m going to keep playing’.

It hasn’t been confirmed, but if you think about it for a moment, it all starts to add up. Do you know about that age-old argument of ‘I shot them ten times, they shot me three times, so why am I dead?’ Could that be an example of EOMM at work? Was the player you were shooting at on an EOMM kick that was trying to keep them engaged?

It’s not so far-fetched. There’s a strong desire to keep players engaged, after all. This is the way they could do it.

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