Hot take: There are no casual multiplayer games anymore

@Cheese9ManI somewhat agree. But if they wanted as I've suggested, do mm based on filters that each player has set finding players with similar interests/goals/play styles. That could possibly create a more casual type lobby or at the very least casual tms.

But I also feel any online shooter is gonna be pretty competitive so I feel games like Minecraft or Roblox or some other non shooter would be more casual.

@Lord_Scorpion34 

One word: Valheim.

try it it is a blast. Play solo or with friends.

@dSKyNafinchin 

They are working on it for console. 

you could check the requirements for pc. I do not think it needs much. Otherwise it will be well worth the wait 

@Cheese9Man 

There are lots of casual multiplayer games out there.

probably not most ego shooters or other games where one is in comp against the other players. Lots of co-op games out there as well as rpg style games.

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@DankToliet wrote:
@Cheese9Man You should see the Xbox LFG posts. Even for pubs ppl require 20bomb & 4k badges. It's mind numbing

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This is why I have to endure ads for Apex boosting services practically every time I watch a youtube video now.  There's also been an uptick in reports of people teaming and damage/kill farming lately.  Every time someone gets respawned, they can harvest the same replicator materials all over again to buy beacons.

"Gee, why do I keep seeing the same anonymous mode Wattson getting kill after kill with her fences in the kill feed?"  It's so damned sad.  I used to enjoy playing ranked up to gold, so that I could have what felt like much more fair matches than in pubs.  I haven't touched ranked since the frist week of S13 when I discovered they'd reset even experienced players back to Rookie, but somehow I was still getting destroyed.

@Cheese9Man

Part of this conversation involves a definition of “casual”.

The onset of online multiplayer games had one definition. Casual meant that in non-ranked modes, a game put players of all skill together. This produced certain outcomes, and they looked like: players above average had better outcomes than players who were below average. To any sane person this looked ok. Below average players had below average outcomes and above average players had above average outcomes (performance ratios).

But the culture shifted. People became tired of losing to people more skilled than themselves. People desired a space where they can win too. Some people think this is good and some people think this isn’t good. Companies realized that if they catered to this shift, they would make money. They were right, and matchmaking shifted towards an experience that tries (imperfectly) to address this.

Make no mistake, lower skilled players are still winning more than they typically would have, but the experience feels manipulative, and in the occasion that lower skilled players do obviously play higher skilled players, people feel “cheated”.

So what’s better: random matchmaking or SBMM/EOMM? Above average players typically hate it and below average players typically like it. I don’t blame either side. Whatever the case, gaming companies are going to do what’s need to maximize profits; regardless if it’s fair or not.