Quick Play Filter: What Does It Mean in Game Context?

The Quick Play Filter is a Call of Duty multiplayer setting that lets you choose which game modes Quick Play matchmaking can put you into. Instead of joining a fixed playlist, you tick the modes you want, such as Team Deathmatch or Hardpoint, and matchmaking searches across those modes only.

How It Works

Quick Play is the core multiplayer queue in modern Call of Duty games. The filter sits on top of it. Call of Duty's official launch overview for Modern Warfare II (2022) described it this way: you choose your preferred modes, Quick Play searches for available matches in those modes, and you can change the selection at any time.

A few practical rules follow from that:

• Several modes selected: the matchmaker picks among them, so you will get a mix of your chosen modes.
• One mode selected: this is the way to queue for a single mode only, for example Search and Destroy every match.
• More modes, faster matches: a wider filter gives matchmaking more lobbies to choose from, while a very narrow one can take longer.

The feature is older than Modern Warfare II. Reports from January 2020 about a bug where selected modes were not rotating show the Quick Play filter already existed in Modern Warfare (2019).

How to Use It

1. Open Multiplayer and highlight Quick Play.
2. Press the filter button shown on screen to open the mode list. In Modern Warfare II this was Square on PlayStation or X on Xbox, but button prompts vary by game and platform.
3. Select or deselect the modes you want.
4. Back out and start Quick Play. Matchmaking now only uses your selected modes.

Modes You Can Filter

The list depends on the game and season. In Modern Warfare II, for example, the filter covered core modes such as Team Deathmatch, Domination, Hardpoint, Search and Destroy, Free-for-All, Headquarters, Control, Kill Confirmed, Knock Out and Prisoner Rescue, while the large-scale Ground War and Invasion modes ran on bigger Battle Maps. Modes come and go with seasons, so the list you see in the current game may differ.

In Black Ops 7

Black Ops 7 includes a Quick Play playlist with a mode filter. A post-launch patch fixed a bug where the selected modes could sometimes flip to the opposite selection after players dismissed the After-Action Report and kept matchmaking. Black Ops 7 also split multiplayer playlists into Open and Standard categories. According to Treyarch's comments reported at launch, skill is only minimally considered in Open playlists and is a more important factor in Standard ones. Matchmaking rules can change from season to season, so check the latest patch notes for current behavior.

Tips

• Use it to grind challenges. If a camo or weekly challenge needs objective captures, filter to Domination or Hardpoint so every match counts.
• Re-check after updates. New seasons add modes, and filters may need updating to include them. Bugs have occasionally changed selections, so confirm your list before queuing.
• Keep two or three modes if queues are slow. Smaller modes can take longer to fill, especially at off-peak hours or in less popular regions.
• Know what the filter does not do. It controls modes, not skill-based matchmaking, ping or lobby quality.

FAQ

Can I pick specific maps with the Quick Play Filter?

The filter is a mode filter. Official descriptions talk about choosing modes, not maps, so expect maps to rotate within your chosen modes.

Why did I get a mode I did not select?

Filters have had bugs in past games, including Black Ops 7's inverted-selection issue that was later patched. Re-open the filter and confirm your choices.

Does the filter affect skill-based matchmaking?

No. In Black Ops 7, the Open and Standard playlist categories determine how much skill is considered, not the mode filter.

Patch notes and playlist updates are posted on the official Call of Duty site.