In XDefiant, there will be no skill-based matchmaking

On May 14, Ubisoft San Francisco published a blog in which it talked about the player selection system in the conditionally free-to-play shooter XDefiant. To the delight of Call of Duty fans, the publisher promised that the game will not have SBMM (skill-based matching) in quick game and casual playlists. However, SBMM will still be used in ranked mode.

XDefiant developers noted that in the quick game, player selection will be based on connection assessment, connecting players to servers in the nearest region to minimize ping.

Other details of the selection in the shooter:

• Teams on the server will be shuffled regularly for balance. Ranked mode will take each player's skill level as a basis.
• Some playlists will block changing input device. It will be impossible to change from keyboard and mouse to gamepad or vice versa when clicking the match search button in the ranking.
• In casual playlists, lobbies will not be dissolved after a match ends, but players will be shuffled.

XDefiant will be released on May 21. At launch, the game will feature 14 maps, 5 modes, 5 factions, and 24 weapons. Four seasons after release, XDefiant promises to add 4 factions, 12 weapons and 12 maps.

The shooter will be available on PC, PS5 and Xbox Series X|S. Versions for the previous generation have been canceled.