SBMM or skill-based match making is a Fornite feature that puts players of similar skills in the same lobby. In other words, highly-skilled players are matched against high-skilled gamers while lower-skilled players are matched against less-experienced player.
This makes perfect sense in ranked playlists where the idea is to encounter players who will give you a real challenge. When paired with advanced players, matches become incredibly difficult and players are left with no choice but to try their hardest. But the lack of fun in the matches can turn everything into a pure tactical game that could potentially give you headaches.
SBMM has always been controversial
Many players disagreed with this approach from the very beginning. Granted, if you want to play in a more relaxed manner, having to play in a more competitive and aggressive match can ruin all the fun.
But the initial idea of implementing this feature was fueled by good intentions. The main idea was to avoid placing inexperienced players against highly-skilled gamers. Obviously, low-skilled players would be a sitting duck for more experienced gamers. As a result, inexperienced players would immediately lose their motivation and quit the game which would result in a lower player base.
SBMM has been removed from squad playlists
Epic recently removed SBMM from the squad playlist. Soon after, many experienced players began boasting about dominating entire teams of less-experienced players. This only reinforces Epic’s initial motivation for adding this feature in the first place.
Removing skill-based match making offers players the opportunity to engage with a wider variety of players spicing up the game. But what about low-skilled players and their motivation to keep playing if they get killed the very second they enter the game?
Conclusion
There are other battle royale games that host skill-based match making. Apex Legends and Call of Duty are just two of them. But their developers preferred to stand their ground and keep the feature despite gamers’ criticism.
Epic will definitely analyze gamers’ reactions following this change as well as the impact it has had on the player base. Any further SBMM changes will be implemented based on these two factors.
What’s your take on this? Hit the comments below.