XDefiant opens with skill-based matchmaking but drops it quickly, and players are loving the SBMM-free life

Ubisoft's new first-person shooter joins the likes of Call of Duty and The Finals in including skill-based matchmaking, but here's the thing – it doesn't stick around.

Now that XDefiant is in the hands of players, plenty are noticing that the 'Welcome Playlist' features SBMM up until the point you hit level 25. After that? You can encounter anyone across the skill range spectrum.

As Ubisoft explains in-game, the point of the playlist is to offer players a space to learn the fundamentals of the game before braving the other playlists – whether you take advantage of it or not remains up to you. Is it enough to stop people from creating smurf accounts to go and club some new players? Likely not, though the lack of SBMM elsewhere should hopefully lead to less smurfing.

It may come as little surprise to anyone who has been near a Call of Duty forum, but the design choice is largely going down a treat with players. "Literally my favorite part of the game - doing well, enjoying myself, and not getting punished for it," one player says.

Another writes, "No matter what, if there is no SBMM and it stays true to that I will 100% support this game throughout its life just for the simple fact of that and [the] lobby not disbanding – ping is king."

If you're new to the skill-based matchmaking debate, it's typically unpopular when it shows up in casual playlists because it makes matches not very casual at all. The idea is that if you offer a competitive mode, then why offer another competitive mode rather than something that allows you to switch off rather than stay switched on?

Another commonly held community perspective is that if a matchmaker prioritizes player skill, it's probably not paying due attention to actual connection quality, meaning you're in for some frustrating lag-influenced deaths.

Of course, the lack of skill-based matchmaking doesn't suit everyone. Some players report difficult match-ups only to be met with little sympathy. That ranges from the 'get gud' crowd to those who dig a bit deeper, saying everyone will have matches good and bad and that's all normal on the road to getting better.

Still, it's a decent enough start, especially considering the launch issues that prevented some players from entering the game until Ubisoft issued fixes. Other challenges are sure to arise, but XDefiant has at least built up some early credit in the bank.

XDefiant is ditching skill-based matchmaking because Ubisoft thinks it's not good for fun or variety, and it "means every casual game is repetitive."