SKILL GAPS IN GAMING ARE GOOD

I have to agree. MWII, low skill gap, lasted a few months. CS:GO, massive skill gap, still going strong after 11 years.

Good job keep up the good work. Keep on and push through and have a great day.

Reminded of my favorite game, Gears of War 1. No progression system, but had alot of varied maps, server browser, and a VERY large skill gap. I kept playing to get better (and the grim world <3)

Honestly I don't remember CoD ever having a skill gap until the jetpack era.

TL;DR: Games should IMO make the first steps of improving at the game easy to do and fun, while providing a high skill ceiling to aspire to - those combined will motivate most players to want to play your game and learn it. An important thing to note is that the skill gap is actually quite complicated, and mechabica that on the surface might seem good may actually end up hurting the experience in unexpected ways. Fortnite's building mechanics hold an incredible skill gap, but I remember many complains from that community about how hard it was to enjoy the game because of how quickly a player who practiced building could build a fortress in response to being shot with even the most miniscule of damage. For this reason, Zero Build was (and iirc is still) an incredibly popular mode, because it removed building as a mechanic which to many people was pushing the skill floor upwards (as players would have to keep up with the manic builder to have a realistic fighting chance). Team Fortress 2 has a somewhat incredibly low skill floor and an amazingly high skill ceiling, but due to its insanely difficult skill progression (and how easy it is to plateau skill-wise in the game), it still remains an entirely casual game, where many competitive players have THOUSANDS of hours under their belt just to play at the level they're at. IMO, the main reason for this is due to the complex class-to-class interactions combined with (again, IMO) pretty complicated map flows and structures. I think the first step COD should make in widening the skill gap is by making more basic movement techniques intuitive for a new(er) player to use, while making them strong for good players to abuse, with equally strong counterplay for other good players to shut down. IMHO, COD Mobile has done that, and while I could type up an entire novel on the intricacies of just the movement system alone, I will say this: It wouldn't be nearly as fun or skillful if it was as complicated to do as a slide cancel in MW2019 or CW. You can just ADS and shoot while you slide, even your Average Joe can do it. And because he can do it, and the system is so complex under the hood, it entices him to learn all the other aspwcts of the game. I legit have not felt that feeling in years, especially not in the FPS genre.

There should be a fine line in skill gap and what genre/audience you want for your game. Hardcore competitive player? Gears of war probably is for you. Casual player who just wants to load in and relax? Minecraft is for you. Want to have fun with lots of silliness? Roblox is for you. Want a easy to pick up game that has a minor skill gap but not too wide unless sbmm abuses you? Call of duty. Team player? Well overwatch is just for you and Fortnite for mechanical skill so on. Skill gaps give something else to strive for, but too much makes a game very competitive so it depends on your audience. I don't mind all of them i have played many different genres of games and types of games with different audience's. Just depends on what you as a company want to make your game based off of