Ducky Obrien Show 020 - Ranked Matchmaking is a Scam

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Lately I've been engaging with only the ranked and competitive modes in video games. I guess I just don't like fun anymore, suffering is the only way I feel alive. However, after spending hundreds and even thousands of hours playing competitive modes across a wide variety of genres, I came to a singular conclusion: ranked and competitive matchmaking is a scam.

Now some of it is defintely a case of what modern gamers would call "a skill issue" and the solution is to "git gud" and I realize that. But, there is something larger moving in the shadows of game development that is more nefarious in nature. In order to show my point we can go back and observe what ranked and competitive matchmaking looked like in the past and compare it to present day matchmaking.

YouTube Video Essay: https://youtu.be/uQ_q6J62TSg Written Blog Article: https://duckyobrien.com/2023/06/29/competitive-matchmaking-is-a-scam/