During the EA Play 2020 event last Thursday, EA announced that Apex Legends would be getting ports to the Nintendo Switch and Steam, along with plans to enable cross-play. With the game expanding its player base soon, fans wondered how Respawn would handle the large influx of new players in terms of matchmaking.
Apex Legends, like many other competitive online games, currently leverages skill-based matchmaking (SBMM). It's intended to maintain fair matches among players of varying skill levels, prevent inexperienced or unskilled players from getting stomped by veterans, and ensure most players see some reward for their efforts.
However, more hardcore players disagree with the use of SBMM. They claim that it makes casual games feel as difficult as ranked, and that it prevents them from enjoying the game with their lower-ranked friends. As a result, many high-rank players have called for the removal of SBMM altogether. Meanwhile, players in lower ranks tend to favor SBMM, as it keeps them from getting rolled by their more skilled peers.
In a recent interview, the game's creative director, Chad Grenier, explained why Apex Legends uses SBMM, and why it's unlikely to go away.
"There are multiple sides to the story. We're trying to evaluate all of the data and and trying to do what's best for the game as a whole," Grenier said. "It's really tough because you've got some beginner players or mediocre players, middle of the road, and you want them to have a good experience."
He went on to explain how SBMM benefits players of lower skill and helps retain new players. "You want them to get into the game, get engaged, get some kills, get some wins occasionally because if someone comes in and they try out Apex and they get stumped, they're not going to keep playing the game."
Maintaining a steady stream of new players is critical to an online game's health. It helps the game stay relevant, makes matches happen faster, and lengthens the game's lifespan overall. If you pit new players who are just learning how a game works against veterans, they're very likely to get rolled. While it's true that some enjoy seemingly unforgiving challenges (take the success of games like Dark Souls, for instance), many others would prefer to have a more rewarding experience as they develop their skills.
When asked about his stance on players asking for the removal of SBMM in Apex Legends, Grenier said, "We say, okay, well these highly skilled players, they should play against other highly skilled players and be competitive. We don't want them just stomping all these beginners and then they have a bad experience, right? We're always trying to find that balance."
Grenier finished his thoughts on the subject by encouraging players to provide feedback on changes made to the Apex Legends matchmaking system. He claims Respawn will patch the game according to said feedback, as they have in the past.