Yeah I agree. It seems to me (and I am just generalizing based on my experience here) that the matchmaking for casual mode roughly uses 3 types of lobbies:
Based on the very short matchmaking queue times of like 2-5 seconds, seemingly for all players regardless of skill level, it seems to me that this model is far more likely to be true than some sort of hard SBMM or EOMM based on the queueing players skills, win rate etc
@StelioRokos @Midnight9746 @biast12
Just wanna weigh in on the EOMM discussion =)
The rumor about Respawn using EOMM in Apex originated from an article at Dexerto called "Apex Legends SBMM controversy: Is EA rigging your matches? - Dexerto". But if you read this article, all they base this speculation on is that EA (so not even Respawn who is developing Apex) conducted a research study on a new approach of matchmaking which they called EOMM that tried to match "optimal match opponent" based on how the outcome of a match affects player retention. In the report, they compared this EOMM to conventional matchmaking methods like SBMM, Random matchmaking etc and came to the conclusion that EOMM was better at retaining players.
But here is the thing; the study (WWW17Chen_EOMM (ucla.edu)) was specifically conducted on "an EA 1v1 PvP game" with three possible match outcomes; win, draw, loss (so probably FIFA if I had to guess). They explicitly pointed this out many times in the study. In the conclusion, they argued that the results could be used for team games but clearly was talking about team 1 vs team 2 - type of games like CSGO, Valorant, Overwatch etc where they also explicitly stated that it would require a lot of development of the study findings to be able to apply it to team games.
I don't think expect anyone to read and try to understand the research paper but trust me; there is just no way that the findings of that study is even remotely applicable for a game with 60 players in each match, divided into 20 teams of 3. Only the fact that the methods --> results of the study was based on a game with three definite match outcomes (win, lose, draw) SHOULD debunk any speculations that EOMM is applicable in Apex..
So I totally agree with @biast12. if EA uses EOMM, its in games like FIFA and Madden. But that doesn't mean the current matchmaking has elements what you could classify as "engagement optimizing". Ofc will game designers try to find ways to make people wanna keep grinding their game. Respawn employees even confirmed this in a tweet which can be seen in the Dexerto article. I think the soft resets in ranked is one such example. Another is that full premade trios now and then gets to play in lobbies with most squads of randoms. But to call these examples EOMM is wrong since this refers to a certain method of matchmaking, derived from theoretical formulas and empirical studies.
No offense to anyone but I think this EOMM rumor is a prime example how missinformation grows and spreads like cancer. It starts out with mere speculations and after a while "on the internet", it becomes the truth, even though NO new information or proof has been added to the discussion.
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