Taken from Activisions website about matchmaking https://support.activision.com/articles/en_US/FAQ/How-does-matchmaking-work-in-Public-Match/ The big thing is they state: Time of Day [b]Since matchmaking works to find the game with the best connection quality[/b], it will have a much easier time finding high-quality connections when there are more players online in your area. As a general rule, peak usage occurs during the late afternoon and evening hours in each time zone. Also on COD Advanced warfare the developer states: FIRST, AND I CAN’T STRESS THIS ENOUGH, PLAYER CONNECTION TO THE HOST ALWAYS TAKES PRIORITY OVER SKILL IN THE MATCHMAKING PROCESS – ALWAYS, NO EXCEPTIONS. FAST CONNECTION TO A MATCH HOSTED ON OUR GLOBAL DEDICATED SERVERS IS THE MOST IMPORTANT COMPONENT OF OUR MATCHMAKING SYSTEM.