Skill Was Not Priority In Battlefield 6 Beta’s Matchmaking

DICE senior producer David Sirland has clarified how matchmaking worked in last weekend’s Battlefield 6 open beta.

What Is The Deal With Modern FPS Matchmaking?

Skill-based matchmaking (SBMM) is the current popular practice. Online multiplayer games match up players based on their skill levels. In theory, this should make it more enjoyable for lower skill level players to keep playing. That should then mean more players will keep coming back to play.  

This also increases the chances the game makes more money. As these online games build bigger communities, players will want to buy skins or other items. Ideally, these won’t just be whales, or a smaller number of people who spend hundreds or thousands. Game companies want more players to do more spending, even if they can’t spend as much and as often.

What Were We Previously Told?

We recently reported that Sirland said SBMM kicks in:

“in the matchmaking playlists the matchmaker matchmaked at end of round.”

But Sirland shared a new explanation since. That’s what we’re sharing now.

Here’s How Matchmaking Worked

Sirland said this:

Clarification: Open beta used all matchmaking priorities we expect for launch. And they are the same as they have been in previous titles. We prioritize Ping, and time to game ahead of most things.

Skill is a factor, but far down the list, and all our large modes need a spread of skill to work well. The sandbox needs many different types of skill to function well, and that’s also why the matchmaker teambalances to make the teams even as part of that process.

In other words, Sirland says they didn’t change their Battlefield matchmaking system at all. At least, the system of what factors they prioritize for matchmaking.

Will This Be OK?

Battlefield 6 beta players did not complain about matchmaking last weekend. Unless we missed something, the consensus is that Battlefield Studios nailed what fans fundamentally wanted to see. That doesn’t mean that the game will be guaranteed to be perfect. But there’s not a lot to complain about so far. If anything, players asking for a server browser shows that it was so enjoyable that they wanted to play it more.

Matchmaking Will Adjust As Necessary

Live service by its nature changes to meet the needs of the developers and their players. Battlefield 6’s online could have new issues after it launches. No studio has really cracked the code yet to stop high level players from raiding and exploiting servers full of lower-level players. But beyond that, there’s also a balance where lower-level players need to face better players to keep getting challenged. The balance is the zone between where players get bored and where they get frustrated.