Battlefield 6 developer hints at how SBMM will work in the game

Battlefield 6 is on the way, and the community has mixed reactions. Although many fans enjoyed the early Battlefield Labs playtests and appreciated the transparency of the feedback system, a recent leak sparked major controversy. According to data miners, Battlefield 6 will include skill-based matchmaking (SBMM), a feature few players liked.

To address this controversy, the lead producer of the game, David Sirland, gave a detailed response in the private Battlefield Labs Discord server. His message was later shared by u/Old_Doubt5886 on the official Battlefield Subreddit, where it gained major attention.

Here's a look at what the developers are saying about SBMM in Battlefield 6.

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Battlefield 6 developers' response to the skill-based matchmaking controversy

David Sirland explained that Battlefield 2042 already had SBMM, but that it worked differently than most of the competitive games. The main focus of matchmaking has always been faster ping and matchmaking rather than skill. While skill is part of the system, it's a minor factor and mostly used for team balancing.

PSA from David Sirland in BF Labs surrounding the controversy of SBMM. byu/Old_Doubt5886 inBattlefield

He also pointed out that players can ignore the skill factor entirely by joining as a party and that this light version of SBMM was already active during Battlefield Labs tests. So, if you did not notice it during the recent Labs session, you're probably safe.

Furthermore, Sirland emphasized the fact that people just dislike heavy SBMM, not the idea of using skill for fair teams. He assured the fans that Battlefield 6 would not have heavy-handed SBMM.

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Global Community Manager's response

The Global Community Manager of the game, u/T0TALfps, replied to this post in the comments section as well. He reminded everyone that Battlefield Labs is meant to test ideas, not final features, suggesting that not everything you experience during the playtesting or find in the game files is confirmed to be added in the final game.

He also criticized the constant reposting of leaks, stating that it damages trust and transparency between the developers and players. According to him, sharing private content out of context creates false narratives.

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In conclusion, both responses seem to confirm that SBMM exists in Battlefield 6, but it will not be implemented heavily. If you are interested in being part of the playtesting, you can sign up by clicking here.

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