Modern Warfare 2 matchmaking tweaked

Microsoft has released an update that should see "geographically isolated" gamers (like us) get a better connection online.

"We've opened up the hood on Xbox Live and tinkered with how matchmaking works for Modern Warfare 2.  It's not a dramatic change, and the majority of our users won't see any difference – but a certain subset of you should be happier now," reads the blog.

"When you search for a match, our servers sort through the many thousands of available matches to find the 'best' potential games for you," it adds. Microsoft has changed how it determines "best", and your country now plays a more significant factor than before.

"As a gamer, you want to play in a lag-free game," Microsoft continued. "This means that you need to be playing with gamers who are 'near you' on the internet.  This is why games like MW2 ping potential matches to determine how close they are and reject them if they're too far away.  If you live somewhere that's geographically isolated – like Australia, for example – most of the world is not near you.  The speed of light just isn't fast enough (that's not something I get to say every day).

"On behalf of that Australian gamer we're now trying harder than ever to find a session in their country for them to join.  Of course, this requires there to be games hosted in Australia with open slots at the moment they're looking – but we've maximised the odds of those gamers getting together.

Last week Guinness World Records confirmed that the launch of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 was the most successful entertainment launch of all time. Hopefully that means there are still plenty of people looking for a game all over this side of the world.