[2021] How Respawn Approaches Data in Apex Legends

In our latest episode, we spoke with a Senior Analyst at Respawn, Emre Ruhi who shared with us what he does and how his team utilizes data.

Here are a few takeaways:

Matchmaking is a complex algorithm which incorporates many variables to not only assess skill but to maintain match quality by optimizing for latency. The challenge of giving each 3 player team a 5% chance of winning is an incredibly difficult task given the many layers of what determines a winning team.
Respawn has data. A lot of it. Metrics like pick rate, win rate, and encounter win rate are important variables to consider in game design and balance but they are only helpful to the team if there is context. For this reason, we understand that the game design and balance team use their experience and intuition to introduce new things to Apex, expecting a change. The data is then queried and is used to determine 1) If a change went as expected 2) If there was a shift in the META.
Emre and his team would like data in Apex to be more transparent. We look forward to asking more questions and getting closer to what the current state of weapons and legends look like in different skill groups and across the game. That being said, open source data is unlikely to happen in the near future given the size of the team at Respawn.

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