Matchmaking (video games)

In multiplayer games, matchmaking is the process of connecting players together for online play sessions.

Playlists are automatically-managed streams of online play sessions that players can join and leave at will. A set of predefined rules is used to determine the configuration of each session without the need for human input.

Games will normally offer a choice of themed playlists (e.g. teams or solo, quirky rulesets, etc.) to suit different tastes or moods. Since playlists are handled by servers controlled by the game's developer it is possible for them to be changed over time.

When a player selects a playlist they join a pool of other people who have made the same choice. The playlist server then either connects them to an existing session or creates a new one.

Parties are groups of players who are treated as a single entity by matchmaking systems. A party can skip from session to session without its players becoming separated from each other. The concept is particularly well-suited to playlists, which can automatically handle the logistics of finding or creating play sessions with enough room for the whole group.

Lobbies are menu screens where players can inspect the upcoming game session, examine the results of the last, change their settings, and talk to each other.

In many games players return to the lobby at the end of each session. In some, players joining a session that has already started are placed in the lobby until the start of the next. As lobbies consume very few resources they are sometimes additionally used as a "holding pen" for players while a suitable host for the coming session is found.

Lobbies created by playlists often have a countdown timer before the session starts, while lobbies created by a player generally transition at that player's discretion.

Many matchmaking systems feature a ranking system that attempts to match players of roughly equal ability together. One such example of this is Xbox Live's TrueSkill system.

Games with ranking will usually offer unranked sessions for players who do not want their performance to be recorded and analysed. These are kept separate so that ranked and unranked players do not mix.

Some games (particularly those with dedicated servers) present a list of active sessions to players and allow them to manually select one. This system can be used in conjunction with ranking and lobbies, but is frustrated by the on-demand session creation of playlists.

Most of these server browsers allow players to filter the results they provide. Common filter criteria include server name, player count, game mode, and latency.

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