Will Splitgate have skill-based matchmaking (SBMM) at launch?

A recent interview with the Splitgate developers has gone viral on social media, namely Tik Tok. The interview was centred around the topic of skill-based matchmaking, which is one of gaming’s most controversial issues. 

Skill-based matchmaking, or SBMM as it’s come to be known, is a system of matching players up with others of their skill level. Generally, most fans agree that a system of this nature belongs in a ranked playlist, where rewards are given to players who consistently beat players of their skill. 

However, in recent years, developers have implemented strict SBMM into casual playlists. Games like Call of Duty, Fortnite, Apex Legends and others have all confirmed a system like this is in the standard playlists. However, gamers are asking if Splitgate will also follow this path. 

Splitgate’s stance on SBMM is revealed 

The Tik Tok in question was of a developer Q&A that took place during the Splitgate open beta. The devs sat down in their home offices and took questions that were relative to the development of Splitgate and the full launch of the game. 

Of course, one of the questions centred around SBMM. One of the developers took charge of this question and gave the company’s view on the controversial system. 

“We want to have loose skill-based matchmaking. We basically want a balance, where we’re not going to throw a professional player into a match with a brand new user who’s never played the game before.” 

This is the kind of answer that was expected by a majority of fans. SBMM was designed for newer players to retain an interest in the game they’re playing. Instead of them being dominated every single match and eventually losing interest, SBMM allows them to play against players of their skill level to get better and want to keep playing. 

However, this decision has made it much more difficult for highly skilled players to get any better, as they also have to play against players like them. When talking about these kinds of players and their experiences with Splitgate, the developer gave a hopeful answer. 

“But at the same time, we don’t want the high-ranked lobbies to just purely, forever be high-ranked lobbies where you just never get anything fun.”

To close out the question, the Splitgate developer stated the studio is “very open to feedback. It’s something we can adjust and we are always happy to hear you guys,” which means if the system doesn’t please players at launch, 1047 Games could change course.

• Read more: How to enter referral codes in Splitgate

Don't forget to check out our general video games section for guides, industry news, leaks and much more.