Attention Trainers! We would like to share a notice regarding upcoming changes to matchmaking in Season 24 of Ranked Battles.

Season 24 - Matchmaking Changes

Thank you for your continued support and valuable feedback on Pokémon UNITE. We’ve received your feedback on the matchmaking system. Starting with Season 24 (releasing December 5th, 2024), we’ll be testing some improvements.

Pokémon UNITE’s matchmaking system is based on an internal metric called “matchmaking rating” (MMR). This metric considers factors such as Trainer win rate, win and lose streaks, and current rank points. However, since Trainers can’t see their MMR, this system can feel unclear and, at times, frustrating. To help resolve this, we’re making three key changes to matchmaking in Season 24.

Master Rank Rating Adjustments

Previously, the Master rank system made climbing to 1600 Master rank points relatively easy, even with some losses. This provided Trainers a clear goal. However, this often caused ratings to poorly reflect Trainers’ actual skill. With this update, we’re adjusting the rating gain and loss values. Trainers will now need to demonstrate their skills earlier on to achieve higher ratings, which should make the system more accurate.

Here’s how the updated system will work:

Rank and Rating	Season 24	Previously
Expert rank or below	No changes	N/A
Master rank (1200–1399)	Win: +11, Loss: −8	Win: +12, Loss: −6
Master rank (1400–1599)	Win: +9, Loss: −9	Win: +9, Loss: −6
Master rank (1600–1799)	Win: +9, Loss: −9	Win: +9, Loss: −9
Master rank (1800–1999)	Win: +9, Loss: −10	Win: +9, Loss: −9
Master rank (2000–2199)	Win: +9, Loss: −11	Win: +9, Loss: −9
Master rank (2200+)	Win: +9, Loss: −12	Win: +9, Loss: −9

NOTE: These numbers might change slightly depending on the rating differences between your team and the opposing team.

Switching to Master Rank Ratings for Matchmaking

We’re moving away from MMR-based matchmaking and instead switching to a system that only uses Master rank ratings. This aims to make things more straightforward and transparent. Previously, long win or lose streaks could result in being matched with Trainers whose ratings differ significantly from yours. With this change, this should happen less often. While there may be some trade-offs to this, we’ll carefully monitor your feedback and adjust as needed.

Matchmaking Time Changes

Until now, we’ve made matchmaking range adjustments based on past data, but in the upcoming season, we’ll be trying different settings. To match Trainers with opponents closer in rating, we must narrow the matchmaking range. This may increase matchmaking wait times. We’ll closely monitor how many Trainers leave during matchmaking and make adjustments to find a balance.

We sincerely appreciate all the feedback you’ve shared about matchmaking. These changes are an important step forward, but we recognize there’s always room for improvement, and we’re committed to providing the best possible experience. Your thoughts and feedback are invaluable, so please don’t hesitate to share with us. Thank you again for your support. We hope you continue to enjoy Pokémon UNITE.

Source: https://community.pokemon.com/en-us/discussion/14761/season-23-matchmaking-changes/