R.E.P.O. Matchmaking Explained
Image Credit: semiwork, R.E.P.O.
If you’ve been hoping for a matchmaking system in R.E.P.O., you’re not alone. Since launch, players have been asking for public lobbies to easily join random teammates without the hassle of friend invites. The good news? The developers are working on it. The bad news? It’s complicated… But it is coming soon!
Here’s what we know about why R.E.P.O. launched without matchmaking, what the developers are struggling with, and when (or if) you can expect public lobbies.
Why Doesn’t R.E.P.O. Have Matchmaking?
According to semiwork, the game’s developers, they just didn’t expect the game to blow up this much. In their words:
“Our game R.E.P.O. kinda blew up.”
When they first launched without matchmaking, they had no idea how many players would want it. Now that the game is one of Steam’s top sellers, the demand is clear, and the devs are working on adding matchmaking lobbies.
But there’s a problem.
The Hacker vs. Modding Dilemma
The biggest roadblock to adding matchmaking is hackers. If you’ve played any online game, you know that public lobbies invite cheaters who ruin the fun for everyone.
The usual fix? An anti-cheat system.
But here’s where things get tricky:
Anti-cheat systems block most mods.
R.E.P.O. has a growing modding community.
The developers don’t want to kill modding support.
So, semiwork is stuck between two bad options:
Let hackers ruin public lobbies.
Add anti-cheat but break mods.
That’s why they’ve asked the community for ideas on how to solve this problem without hurting modding.
When Will Matchmaking Be Added?
Right now, developers have mentioned they plan on adding it in an update in the near future. Read more about it here. They just need some time to figure out the hacker issue.
Final Blurb
Matchmaking is coming to R.E.P.O., but the developers are still working through major hurdles—mainly how to handle hackers without ruining modding support. Until then, if you want teammates, you’ll need to organize your own squad.
