Battlefield 6 is expected to get creative in the way that it matches players with each other using SBMM.
Skill-based matchmaking [SBMM] is when online games pair players together that are of similar skill. For more detail, I recently wrote a handy guide to what SBMM is and why it’s controversial. The TL;DR is that players of similar ability are matched with each other. It’s a feature that some players believe should be limited to competitive modes.
Lots of popular games, like Call of Duty and Apex Legends, use SBMM. Developers say that it’s a necessary evil to ensure that most players have an enjoyable gaming experience.
We don’t yet know much about Battlefield 6 – we haven’t even had a trailer yet, though one is scheduled to drop in June. Even so, industry insider Tom Henderson claims that the teams at EA DICE are getting creative with its implementation of SBMM in Battlefield 6.
Ever heard of team-based matchmaking?
Apparently, the matchmaking in Battlefield 6 will be team-based. When a player searches for a match, their team will be chosen based on the skill rating of the entire team, not just the player. For example, if a team is filled with a bunch of low-skill rated players, the matchmaking system will try and fill the remaining slots with players of higher skill.
This is a creative attempt to provide a gaming environment that’s more diverse in skill. With this implementation, matches should end up finishing with much closer scores. It sounds like a good idea on paper, but we’ll have to see if it’s any use in practice. I can personally see lower-skilled players getting very frustrated with constantly being put in lobbies with die-hard veterans.
Battlefield multiplayer used to operate using player-controlled servers. Instead of a matchmaking process, like we see in most modern games today, players would have to select a server manually. This had its pros and cons, but it’s something that DICE scrapped for future releases. Since Battlefield 1, the games now use SBMM to matchmake players.
Henderson has previous for leaking Battlefield news
Tom Henderson discussed the topic of SBMM and more in a recent stream. They have a long history of leaking information about Battlefield and Call of Duty. Much of what they’ve said in the last few months has come to fruition.
Through Henderson, we’ve seen sketches of scenes from the upcoming trailer. Leaked images and audio seem to confirm almost everything they’ve said so far.
It’s not long left to wait until the trailer drops in June. Battlefield 6 is set to release on all platforms before the end of the year. With the largest development team in the franchise working on the project, it’s surely set to be a banger.
[Featured Image Credit: EA DICE]
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