Kaplan: Overwatch matchmaking creates winners and losers

Matchmaking in Overwatch, the boulder to my Sisyphus. Ex-Overwatch boss Jeff Kaplan calls the systems "some of the most complex design engineering tasks you're ever going to tackle, and they're thankless," and adds, "There's gotta be winners and there's gotta be losers." The biggest gripe is that matchmaking tends to drive accounts toward a roughly 50/50 win-loss.

Short of "top 500 smurfs or unspeakably bad" players, most records end up much closer to even than people expect. That pattern can mean you're about where you should be on the Elo ladder, even if it's frustrating. I started this season with a generational run: after placement matches I won 12 games in a row.

Then the fall came — I'm currently on a six game loss streak and counting, and I even stopped myself from doing any more comp for my well-being. Kaplan says the team would "study it all the time when people would complain," pulling up accounts and often finding earlier win streaks.

overwatch, matchmaking, jeff kaplan, win-loss, elo ladder, smurfs, top 500, placement matches, win streak, loss streak