Tekken 8 players are complaining about unannounced changes made to the matchmaking system.
Even though Bandai Namco hasn't announced any changes to Tekken 8 matchmaking recently, the community believes that it has taken a turn for the worse and is wondering why the developers made these alleged stealth changes.
At the beginning of April 2024, Tekken 8 players would play versus people with a similar rank. However, since players can have characters distributed across different levels, they often find themselves matched against higher-level opponents who are simply playing one of their secondary characters. Now, though, Tekken 8 players noted that the game is taking into account the overall battle experience rather than the character rank.
Update April 25: Bandai Namco announced via a post on X that adjustments were made to ranked and quick matches to "alleviate difficulties matching users of certain ranks and Tekken prowess." The developers will continue to monitor and adjust matchmaking as needed.
The pros and cons of the alleged stealth changes in Tekken 8
These unannounced changes benefit low-level players by reducing their chances of being matched against better opponents who are leveling up their less-favorite characters, but they can also dampen the experience for players who have leveled up multiple characters.
One Redditor specifically touched on this subject in a thread complaining about current Tekken 8 matchmaking.
"As a new player, it sucks that I ranked up 6 different characters while deciding on who to main," the Redditor wrote. "My prowess is so inflated it doesn't reflect my skill level at all."
These alleged stealth changes have also seemingly increased queue times, especially for high-level players. If you're a casual who only has a couple of hours per week to play Tekken 8, this is sub-optimal. However, this protects low-level players from coming across someone better than them.
Why do Tekken 8 players think Bamdai Nanco changed matchmaking?
After one player shared their own findings on how Tekken 8 matchmaking is functioning right now via a long Reddit thread, the discussion more or so moved on to why Bandai Namco allegedly made them — and one Redditor had a reasonable explanation.
Personally, the way Tekken 8 matchmaking is working right now looks better, minus some specific cases. Perhaps it could get better if Bandai Namco makes some slightl adjustments based on the community's feedback.
Esports.gg reached out to Bandai Namco representatives. We will update this article with their answers should they reply or make a public announcement.
That's all for now. However, be sure to stick around on esports.gg for more Tekken 8 news, guides, and updates!