Apex Legends dev admits SBMM “not easy” but changes are coming

David Purcell
Apex Legends players running into battle

Apex Legends players have been wondering about alternatives to skill-based matchmaking for some time now, and it appears Respawn Entertainment are working to improve the system. 

SBMM has proven to be a lightning rod in the battle royale genre ever since it was first implemented, with the idea of matching players up against their equals based on different statistics.

The game devs have always been pretty responsive with members of the community, ever since the game released, prompting one fan to ask one of Respawn’s analytics specialists about the potential of this style of matchmaking evolving in the near future.

Loba in Apex Legends
Apex Legends players have been wondering if implementing SBMM in-game was the right course of action for some time.

In a Twitter exchange, where user ‘The SBMM guy’ claimed the system actually does them an “injustice” when playing and has created “two rank modes,” Respawn’s own m_ray was happy to respond to the feedback.

They said: “The intention of a matchmaker is to give you *better* (fairer) match, and it turns out that’s not easy in a BR. So for what it’s worth, we’re trying to INCREASE justice – precisely the opposite of the message you sent me.”

This suggests that the dev team, despite having issues figuring it out so far, are working to increase justice in the way players are matched up in the future. However, there has been no mention of a timeframe for this. Presumably, different features will be tested over time rather than an abrupt change of direction.

Some members of the community will already be forming wish lists for Apex Legends Season 6 and if the scrapping of SBMM is right up there at the very top, there’s a chance we could see things shift in the coming weeks and months.

Keep an eye out for patch notes, and follow us on Twitter @TitanfallBlog for more news.

Related Topics

About The Author

David is the former US Managing Editor at Dexerto.com. You can contact him via email: david.purcell@dexerto.com.