Apex Legends new matchmaking system, explained

Apex Legends has gone through many changes since its release. The popular battle royale title features a rapidly-growing roster, new content and events every couple of months, and gameplay changes nearly every season. Now, Apex Legends may be receiving the biggest change in the form of a new matchmaking system.

Apex Legends uses a skill-based matchmaking system that has been a subject of debate among fans regarding the system's effectiveness. Respawn has now shared details about a new matchmaking system that features many improvements.

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The new matchmaking system has been tested in various regions during Season 15. Respawn has confirmed that the old matchmaking system is retiring, and the new matchmaking system will be slowly rolled out over time. Respawn previously released data from a new matchmaking system playtest in one region, showing an improved distribution of players with one or more kill games.

Apex Legends Technical Director Samy Duc breaks down the new matchmaking system with explanations of the progression system, skill rating, and matchmaking in the new system. Here are all the changes in the new Apex Legends matchmaking system.

How does the new Apex Legends matchmaking system work?

The new matchmaking considers progression data. Looking at the progression system, Respawn has shown that account level does not exactly indicate player skill due to so many outliers. Because of that, the new matchmaking system considers that data and further weighs player skill over account level. Although the progression system does not seem to have changed, the progression data shared shows all factors the new matchmaking system considers.

Skill Rating Changes in Apex Legends new matchmaking system

Apex Legends assigns each player a numerical skill level that is affected by in-game performance. The current skill rating system distributes players in matchmaking based on game mode and lobby. When playing solo, players in Pubs will be matched with other players to create an average skill rating across matchmaking. In Ranked, players are matched with similarly skilled players. The new system aims to distribute player skills more equally by adjusting matchmaking, including factoring in group size.

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Players in pre-made groups usually have advantages over solo players, however, the current system only uses the highest player skill in pre-made lobbies. The new system will not use the highest player skill but will include slight skill rating boosts for players in pre-made lobbies while finding more balanced matchmaking based on all player skills.

Overall, the new system seems to more fairly distribute players in matchmaking while considering several factors that can affect player skill and experience. Respawn has not indicated when the new system will be fully rolled out, but some regions are already playing with the new matchmaking system in Season 15.

Related: Read about the Best Apex Legends Characters Ranked on our sister site, Attack of the Fanboy.

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