Elite Ops Gaming

This is a post about SBMM. But it's really just an anecdote about development, and I wonder if other devs out there have had the same experience. When making a competitive MP game like CoD or XDefiant, we try to playtest the game every day. Now I don't know about other devs, but I can say that some of the most fun I've had playing an MP game were those office playtests. And guess what, because the pool of people playing is often just enough for 1-2 games, there is no SBMM. And we had some Pro to nearly Pro players vs some players who were not that great. When I started at Infinity Ward, I was horrible at controller, as I had always been MnK. But I played every day, and it was an absolute blast. And I got better. Never got to the top, but I got decent. And I will always look back on those playtests as some of the most fun I've had playing MP. Now, as I said, this is just an anecdote, but I thought it might be a good one for devs out there to think about. Were your playtests just absolutely a blast because you loved the game you were making? And if so, how did the skill imbalance feel? Again, not trying to prove anything; I'm just sharing my experience. That even with a lobby of very mixed skill, the game was so much fun to play.