Ubisoft’s free-to-play first-person arena shooter, XDefiant is currently one of the most popular shooting games in the gaming industry. Players are having a lot of fun in this fast-paced combat game that features maps and characters from many other Ubisoft titles. One of the main reasons behind the success of the game is the contribution of Mark Rubin, who was Infinity Ward’s Executive Producer until early 2015. Rubin is now the Executive Game Director/Executive Producer at Ubisoft and with plenty of experience in this genre, he has made XDefiant a strong Call of Duty competitor.
That’s not the only reason why players love XDefiant, it’s actually the matchmaking process that is not based on skills. Last month, an official blog post confirmed that there is no skill-based matchmaking in XDefiant’s casual playlist but instead, these 6 factors will be prioritized to make sure the matchmaking process is fair and smooth.
There is no skill-based matchmaking in XDefiant
Ubisoft revealed in a blog post last month that there is no skill-based matchmaking in their latest first-person shooter video game, XDefiant. They explained that they didn’t opt for skill-based matchmaking because it gets repetitive for players. They wrote,
The most important thing to know is- there is no skill-based matchmaking in our casual playlist. We believe that no SBMM is paramount to a fun and varied game experience in the long-term. Frankly, skill-based match making means every casual game is repetitive- constantly repeating matches that are just as stressful and matched as ranked. We believe casual playlist should be fun and no SBMM is the way to do that. If you want that competitive every second counts go all out playstyle – you’ll find our ranked mode to your liking.
They made it clear that for casual play, factors like Latency, Blocked Players, Party Size, Region, Input Device, and Platform are prioritized. As for ranked play, Rank Points is also prioritized along with the aforementioned things.
The teams are balanced based on Skill Rating
Further in the post, Ubisoft confirmed that after a lobby is populated, the teams are balanced on players’ skill rating but skills will not play a role in forming a lobby. Mark Rubin, the Executive Game Director/Executive Producer at Ubisoft, has worked on the game and fans of the Call of Duty franchise are aware of how good Rubin is.
In the coming weeks, XDefiant is expected to gain more popularity but before that happens, Ubisoft needs to address some issues. After various concerns over snipers being overpowered in the game, Rubin confirmed on X that they are adding flinch in the game so when a sniper is taking hits, they can’t just “turn, point, click and delete people.” The patch is expected to roll out soon and that should make the gaming experience much more better.
XDefiant was released on PlayStation 5, Windows, and Xbox Series X/S on May 21, 2024.
