Does The Finals Have SBMM?

Skill-based matchmaking can make or break your experience in a PvP game, especially if it’s an FPS. MW2 and CW, for example, had notoriously bad matchmaking. The debate is hot for the newest addition to the FPS genre as well.

So the question is: does The Finals have SBMM? Here is what we know so far.

Is There Skill-Based Matchmaking in The Finals?

The Finals has skill-based matchmaking (SBMM). It’s just awful at determining player strength, at least for now. Embark Studios confessed this in The Finals’ most recent patch notes and, judging by the details, will address this with a hotfix.

We can only hope this update will provide a more enjoyable experience for the average player. However, the queue times will increase, which should be fine for casual game modes. On the other hand, the ranked mode could take a hard hit. It’s still too early to tell.

Why Does the Competition Seem So Good in The Finals?

The most likely reason is that the majority of The Finals’s players already have plenty of FPS experience. I checked 30 random profiles that reviewed the game, and at least 14 had thousands of hours in competitive shooters, such as CS2, Apex Legends, or Halo.

Another factor could be the simplicity of the game. There are only a couple of core mechanics that every player can grasp from the start. That leaves your brain with a bunch of leftover power you can use to exploit each of those mechanics to their maximum.

You should also take into account that this game is insanely competitive. Compared to the games above, The Finals is all-out non-stop carnage. You hardly have any time for a break, and the game forces you to limit test all the time. The bigger the risks, the bigger the rewards.

Anyway, that’s everything we can say about SBMM in The Finals for now. We will update this post once Embark posts more detailed info. Until then, there are more The Finals guides on our website to explore, and some are linked just below for your convenience.