Fortnite battle royale’s matchmaking has worked pretty much the same as all the other titles in the genre – everyone’s in the same pool, so expert-level players are in there right alongside people who could never dream of victory royale. Now, that’s finally changing, as Epic has confirmed that skill-based matchmaking will be in place for the 10.40 update.
Epic says that this “improved matchmaking logic” will help “create fairer matches” in the core battle royale modes – so LTMs will likely still be a complete free for all. “You will be more likely to match with players of similar skill, and as you get better, so should your opponents,” Epic says. “We will slowly roll this out to all regions across Battle Royale core modes as we test and monitor how it performs.”
Skill-based matchmaking changes were first hinted at over a year ago, and similar sort of matching system was implemented alongside in-game tournaments. Some players have had trepidation about those changes, but as Epic’s investment in competitive Fortnite increases, the advent of fairer matchmaking seemed inevitable.
The battle royale is also getting bots – but only after the Fortnite season 11 release date hits. During that new season, bots will be added at the lower tiers of the skill rankings, and Epic says “they will behave similarly to normal players and will help provide a better path for players to grow in skill.” Bots will start to disappear as you rise through the ranks of the new matchmaking system.
You can get more details in the official announcement, but Epic hasn’t detailed exactly how the matchmaking system will work just yet – and the details are still subject to change, besides. Nonetheless, your odds of attaining victory royale are about to get a lot better.