Apex Legends dev responds to concerns over “frustrating” SBMM system

An Apex Legends dev has responded to players’ concerns with skill-based matchmaking and has suggested changes could be on the way.

The majority of competitive games like Apex Legends implement their own SBMM (skill-based matchmaking) system that attempts to match players with those similar in skill to give you the fairest experience.

However, previously the SBMM system, that many developers use, has been proven to have its flaws. Frequently, lower-ranked players will make their way into the high-skill lobbies.

A Reddit thread started on December 17 by Apex Legends player JakkoWasHere got a response from the devs after they hit out at the SBMM system.

“I’m level 99, but every time I go into a match, it’s full of level 500 sweaties with 20k kills,” said JakkoWasHere. “It’s not cool, it makes me frustrated.”

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The thread from JakkoWasHere got a response from Respawn dev Aaron L. who assured them that being a high level doesn’t necessarily mean the player is highly skilled: “Just to be clear here… high level does not imply high skill.”

The Respawn dev then followed up on his comment suggesting that changes to the casual queue SBMM could be on the way. Yeah… pub’s matchmaking can be a bit volatile at times,” said Aaron. “It’s on my radar.”

While it’s not direct confirmation that SBMM changes are coming, Aaron’s comment that it’s on his radar suggests that Respawn is monitoring matchmaking and whether their systems could be improved.

While it may not amount to anything, this will definitely be positive news for players frustrated by the opponents they face off against in public matches.