Activision patents suggest CoD players have easier lobbies if they pay

Most players have bought items in Call of Duty over the years.

Whether it be Roze skins for Warzone, CDL Team Packs to flex in Ranked, or simply just wanting to sport cool crossovers like Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles or The Terminator, there’s been a bundle for everyone.

But if you’re ever thinking about getting any more bundles or items, make sure it’s at the start of your gaming session, as patents have emerged where Activision rewards paying customers with easier lobbies.

Activision patents show matchmaking is based on skins

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Coming off the back of the increasingly severe Skill Based Matchmaking, which has grown over the years, fans have now spotted that there are more matchmaking warps that could be in play.

As per "strahfe" on Twitter, Activsion has patents that directly impact matchmaking based on microtransactions, forcing "marquee" players with promoted skins to be matched against players without said customisation bundle, which advertises it in-game.

"For instance, the microtransaction engine may match a more expert/marquee player with a junior player to make game-related purchases of items possessed/used by the marquee player," the patent reads.

Is Bundle-based matchmaking in Call of Duty?

Activision has had this patent since 2020, although it has not actually been confirmed to directly impact the Call of Duty series. Activision owns a string of games like Overwatch, World of Warcraft, Tony Hawk's Pro Skater, and more, where these patents could be used.

Popular Call of Duty page CharlieIntel has claimed that these patents aren't ones that are used in the CoD series, saying, "While Activision has done shady things with MTX in games, these patents don’t describe anything that’s in effect in-game and are several years old."

But there's no denying that when the CDL skins, for example, launch, or huge collaboration with tracer round weapons are added, public lobbies are filled with these players, and it might not just be a coincidence of popularity...