REMATCH News

Rematch Season 1 finally rolls out the feature we've all been waiting for

Even with EA FC 26 now out in the wild, Rematch remains a real breath of fresh air. Sure, the ball-hogging antics of some of your teammates may leave you just as enraged as a last-minute defeat on Ultimate Team, but its slicker, snappier matches and focus on nailing core mechanics is a welcome break from grinding for packs and meta players. Rematch Season 1 has just arrived, and it finally rolls out the one feature I (and many others) have been waiting for: crossplay.

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Season 1 begins September 23

[p][/p][p][/p][p]Kicking off September 23. Make your mark. [/p][p][/p][h3]ICYMI [/h3][p]5 new Battle Pass tiers with rewards waiting in-game for the most dedicated. Check them out!
[/p][p][/p][h3]Last chance to climb in Season 0 ⏳ [/h3][p]Hit Platinum or higher to claim your rewards![/p][carousel][/carousel]
https://store.steampowered.com/app/2138720/REMATCH/

Season 1 Update - 1.201.000

[h2]Patch Information[/h2][p]1.201.000[/p][p]Season 1 Update Beta: September 17th, 2025[/p][p]Release Date: September 23rd, 2025[/p][p][/p][p]Season 0 End: September 23rd, 2025 at 16:00 CEST[/p][p]Season 1 Start: September 23rd, 2025 at 18:00 CEST[/p][p][/p][p]These Patch Notes have been edited to reflect the state of the Patch on release, following its Beta. New changes are marked as \[NEW].[/p][p]
Hi everyone![/p][p]Rematch’s Season 1 Update will introduce the long-awaited 3v3 ranked game mode, alongside new cosmetics, new customizations options and various QoL improvements. As a reminder, Crossplay is also now live and you can play with friends no matter the platform![/p][p][/p][p]Season 1 also launches with fixes and balance changes to player movement, improving responsiveness, and nerfing certain exploits such as the “Ippy Slide.” Goalkeeper dives have been improved to be more reliable across the board. We have also ironed out various Extra Effort related issues, although more fixes are on their way. Skill-based matchmaking parameters are now stricter in ranked matches, ensuring more evenly matched teams.[/p][p][/p][p]In case you missed it, we’ve also deployed a new technology called Network Next, which aims to reduce latency for players with high ping within their own region. Network Next is only deployed in the Sao Paulo server region for the time being, but considering the positive results we’ve observed, we are looking into which region to enable it next![/p][p][/p][p]Please note that these Patch Notes are tentative and might change between now and the full release of the Season 1 Update next week. Please take part in the Beta to provide your feedback and help us track unidentified bugs![/p][p][/p][h2]Matches / Core Gameplay Improvements[/h2][p][/p][h2]Major Changes[/h2][p]\[NEW] Dev Comment: in order to improve aerial volley balance, we've reduced how quickly players can snap to the ball while using extra effort. This addresses unfair distances covered by volley abilities, which leave defenders with little reaction time. While these changes impact techniques like "Blade Shots" and "Golden Boosts", we are carefully tweaking linked abilities to preserve interesting aspects of these emerging moves. Our goal is to balance core gameplay with player skill expression.[/p][p][/p]

[p]\[NEW] Reduced the maximum speed to reach a ball in volley while in Extra Effort from 13.5m/s to 11m/s (corresponding to our fastest movement speed, being the sweeper’s Extra Effort speed)[/p]
[p]\[NEW] Reduced the push force applied to the ball when hitting it with Extra Effort by 13%[/p]
[p]\[NEW] Reduced Short Lob Tap power (RB+X+A / R1+Square+Cross) by 7% with an angle compensation to maintain its height (this is aimed at conserving the feel and effectiveness of blade shots)
[/p]

[p]\[NEW] Dev Comment: with regards to the “Ippy Slide”, we decided to make some slight changes to ball control. We reduced the range from which a ball can be controlled while a player is doing a turnaround. This situation is at the core of what happens during an "Ippy Slide": as ball control happens in a direction while the player is already engaged in the opposite one. The distance from which you can do an “Ippy Slide" is now reduced, and the speed of execution is also reduced (as the character must now travel more distance before turning back). The situation should be clearer for a defender and give them more time to react. Reaching the ball with an “Ippy Slide” requires high speed and so can only be performed with enough stamina, thus limiting usage of the move.
[/p]

[p]\[NEW] Reduced Push Ball power by 4%[/p]
[p]\[NEW] Increased the inertia distance of a 180° turn during a sprint by ~0.5m [/p]

[h2]Major Fixes[/h2][p][/p][h3]Goalkeeper & Dives[/h3]

[p]Fixed issue where the Goalkeeper would not be able to correctly dive on an incoming ball at close range from a volley.[/p]
[p]\[NEW] Reduced instances of the dive animation getting cancelled upon performing a ball catch while another player performs a volley action.[/p]
[p]Fixed an issue where the Goalkeeper can catch shots from inside the net.[/p]
[p]Fixed an issue where the Goalkeeper would sometimes be made to face the wrong direction under specific circumstances.[/p]
[p]Fixed an issue where the invulnerability remains on the Goalkeeper after a dive deflect.[/p]

[p][/p][h3]Extra Effort[/h3]

[p]\[NEW] Fixed an issue that appeared in the Beta which allowed the execution of “Blade Shots” without extra effort.[/p]
[p]Fixed some occurrences where using Extra Effort would lock movement in the starting direction.[/p]
- [p]This will still happen in some cases, but more fixes are on their way.[/p]
[p]Fixed an issue where the Extra Effort is canceled during a direction change or after a Push Ball.[/p]

[h3]Ball Control[/h3]

[p]Fixed some occurrences where using Push Ball would allow players to move at a higher speed than intended, regardless of stamina.[/p]
[p]Tweaked the touch distance during ball control to improve clarity and updated the Ball Touch animation.[/p]
[p]Fixed an issue where the player would slow down when trying to sprint after a Push Ball.[/p]

[h3]Movement[/h3]

[p]\[NEW] Fixed an issue where movement transition from Defense Mode to Sprint makes the character go backwards briefly.[/p]

[h3]Volley[/h3]

[p]\[NEW] Fixed an issue where outfield dives would sometimes not interact with volleyed balls.[/p]
[p]Players who lost priority on a volley duel will now properly interrupt their animation.[/p]

[h3]Misc[/h3]

[p]Fixed an issue on Mouse and Keyboard where aiming towards the ground would move the crosshair toward the left of the aimed direction at the end of a shot.[/p]
[p]Fixed remaining issues with Xbox achievements.
[/p]

[h2]Minor Changes / Fixes[/h2]

[p]Fixed an edge case when the deflect/deviate preemptive animation didn't play before the ball interacts with the defense mode.[/p]
[p]Fixed some issues where the Goalkeeper invulnerability indicator would not behave properly.[/p]
[p]Fixed an issue where a volley short tap would apply too much power.[/p]
[p]Fixed the transitions from dive and dash to sprint and Extra Effort.[/p]
[p]Fixed an issue where the player’s movement would not match the character’s facing direction when sprinting forward following a backward dribble.[/p]
[p]Some fixes to the behavior when turning quickly after using a push ball (impacts “ippy slide”). More fixes are coming soon.[/p]

[h2]Tutos & Workshops / Menus / Interface[/h2][p][/p][h3]Additions and Updates[/h3]

[p]Added new game parameters for Custom Matches:[/p]
- [p]Enable goal sweeper[/p]
- [p]Enable goalkeeper[/p]
- [p]Skip celebration and replay (named “skip kick off on goal”)[/p]
[p]The end match stats screen now also shows the total occurrences of each action per team.[/p][p][/p]

[h3]Major Changes / Fixes[/h3]

[p]Fixed an issue where the player would become invisible when leaving the customization menu due to a disconnect.[/p]
[p]Fixed an issue where the ball indicator would persist on screen upon entering and exiting Freeplay mode.[/p]
[p]\[NEW] Fixed the Goalkeeper AI not running towards the player during the prologue.[/p]
[p]Fixed an issue where AI players could not control the ball in the “Protect Ball” workshop.[/p]
[p]Fixed an issue with the ball shot interaction in the “Toro” workshop.[/p]
[p]Fixed an issue where AI players would stand still on the ball without controlling it in workshops.[/p]
[p]Fixed an issue where movement tutorials involving oriented control would sometimes get stuck on a step.[/p]
[p]Fixed an issue with the last step of the training center where the oriented control step would prevent progression during the prologue.[/p]
[p]\[NEW] Fixed an issue where the kickoff pass was not performed at the start of a Custom Match.[/p]
[p]The New Set feature does not reset customization anymore.[/p]
[p]In the social panel, the Blocked Players filter is now clearer.[/p]
[p]Fixed an issue where the “Add Friend” button disappears when re-selecting a recent crossplay player that has just been added as friend.[/p]
[p]Gaining just enough RP to reach the next division from 79-80 RP now correctly triggers the promotion animation between divisions.[/p]
[p]The RP gauge stays fully lit while progressing or regressing in Elite league.[/p]
[p]Fixed an issue where players could (unsuccessfully) attempt to purchase a full Battle Pass slot when they did not have enough tokens to do so.[/p]
[p]Fixed an issue where players who left a match would still appear in the scoreboard for remaining players.[/p]
[p]Fixed an issue where the matchmaking status bar would persist on screen when trying to join a lobby with different crossplay settings.[/p]
[p]Clinking on a set in the Sets page now brings to the corresponding Bundle page.[/p]
[p]Fixed an issue where accepting a Squad invite from the Social Panel while being in a custom lobby would result in the custom lobby appearing empty.[/p]
[p]\[NEW] Fixed display dates not appearing as local time in Battle Pass.[/p]
[p]\[NEW] Fixed an issue where sometimes spectator players in Custom Match would be disconnected from the server when joining it.[/p][p][/p]

[h3]Minor Changes / Fixes[/h3]

[p]Fixed an issue where the “Thumb button” presets would not work as intended with an AZERTY keyboard layout.[/p]
[p]Fixed multiple issues in the player profile career statistics page.[/p]
[p]Fixed an issue when scrolling while changing the text language in the menu.[/p]

[p][/p][h2]Art / Rendering[/h2][h3]Major Fixes[/h3]

[p]Fixed a material bug causing buildings in the Dirtfield to appear black.[/p]
[p]Fixed outline artifacts appearing through character hair.[/p]
[p]Fixed a field line rendering bug.[/p]
[p]Fixed a bug where the radar would appear to bounce.[/p][p][/p]

[h3]Misc. Fixes[/h3]

[p]Fixed color inconsistency for currencies in the options.[/p]
[p]Fixed color artifacts on AR animated text.[/p]
[p]Fixed some VR thumbnail videos.[/p]
[p]General optimizations to textures, meshes, and FX assets.[/p][p][/p]

[h2]Audio[/h2][p][/p][h3]Additions and updates[/h3]

[p]Two new languages have been added for the game voices : Polish and Turkish[/p]
[p]New music has been added to the Main Menu.[/p]

[h3]Minor / Misc. Fixes[/h3]

[p]Fixed audio issues when going back to the Main Menu.[/p][p][/p]

[h2]Known Issues[/h2]

[p]Wrong animation triggered on ball control during a turn.[/p]
[p]On PS5, Custom Match Participants will temporarily disappear from the Lobby after transferring Host role.[/p]
[p]Using "Standing tackle" input right after releasing "Sprint" input still results in a sliding tackle.[/p]
[p]In very rare cases, the player is unable to take possession of the ball unless they reconnect to the match.[/p]
[p]Some bundle titles and backgrounds have no description[/p]
[p]Pushball exploit present upon cancelling Dribble while MC is facing backwards from the camera.[/p]
[p]When completing a chapter the screen isn't instantly moved to the next phase.[/p]
[p]AI tackles go through the Player's dribble during the "Protect Ball" Workshop.[/p]
[p]For now, there is no way to add a friend directly from the squad header.[/p]
[p]AI performs a successful distant sliding tackle upon performing specific steps in “Protect ball” workshop[/p]
[p]Error lacks context when trying to add as a friend a player who blocked us.[/p]
[p]In specific cases, the Goalkeeper invulnerability can be present outside of the goal area.[/p]
[p]The extra effort can be cancelled if the pushball is triggered at the same time.[/p]

Mini Dev Update #5

[p]One of the current hot topics in the community is the presence of what we call “emergent mechanics”. What we are referring to by “emergent mechanics” are gameplay mechanics and techs that players are using regularly in games, but that were not part of our initial design intentions. A few notable examples would be: the Blade Shot, the Ippy Slide and the Golden Boost.[/p][p][/p][p]These “mechanics” appear because of unintended interactions between mechanics (the Blade Shot) or bugs (Ippy Slide and Golden Boost). Players are divided on the place of these techs in the game. Some see them as bugs that must absolutely be fixed, while others now see them as an irreplaceable part of the game’s mechanics, allowing them to express their skill with the controller. Our position is more nuanced, and we want to address each of these techs and emergent mechanics with specific care.[/p][p][/p]

[p]Patch 4 brings many big and small bug fixes[/p]
[p]Some of these impact “emergent mechanics”, specifically the Golden Boost - changing the way Extra Effort interacts with the ball, especially during turns[/p]
[p]Our short term intention is not to remove depth or speed from the game, but we cannot leave bugs in the game intentionally[/p]
[p]There are also two specific, intentional gameplay changes that affect the Blade Shot, keeping it in the game but in a more controlled and balanced form[/p]
[p]Ippy Slide will see some fixes in Patch 4[/p]

[p][/p][p]One side-effect of fixing glitches and removing some “exploits/advanced mechanics” is that the game can seem slower for some players. This is not an outright intention but if and when we do want to increase or lower the tempo of the game, we must do it with controlled changes, and not by relying on leaving bugs in the game.
[/p][h3]BUG FIXING AND EMERGENT MECHANICS
[/h3][p]A key objective of Rematch is to make the game more and more stable, and as we fix bugs, it will have an impact on these emergent mechanics. As much as we are interested in keeping and adding mechanics that add depth to the game, we cannot do so by leaving bugs in. These bugs have other consequences, and mean that we have no control over the balance of these mechanics, or the stability of the game over time.
[/p][h3]THE FUTURE OF “EMERGENT” MECHANICS IN REMATCH[/h3]

[p]There are a number of emergent mechanics in the game that were not intended[/p]
[p]We want to leave space for player expression and are curious to see if it adds depth[/p]
[p]But we do want to make sure these new mechanics are interesting for the game[/p]
[p]Not only should they be balanced, but they should respect the core principles of the game, and bring something positive to the table[/p]
[p]We need our game to be stable and consistent in the long run. This means we cannot stop a bug fix because it changes the way these emergent mechanics works
[/p]

[p]To address some of these more specifically:[/p][p][/p][p]The Blade Shot[/p]

[p]Blade Shot is an unintended result of two mechanics interacting (Short Lob Tap + Extra Effort Volley)[/p]
[p]It has both positive (creates variety, but limited by Extra Effort) and negative aspects[/p]
[p]The Blade Shot will stay in Rematch for now[/p]
[p]But we will iron out issues around it to make it a mechanic that is more balanced and better respects the principles of the game[/p]

[p]Being the result of two intended mechanics, it is relatively stable and we can start building on it to try and make it a more balanced part of the game.
[/p][p]In Patch 3, two things ended up affecting the Blade Shot:[/p]

[p]A gameplay change, where your shots will have less of a power bonus when hitting the ball while your character has a high locomotion speed.[/p]
[p]A bug fix, where we reduce the speed you can reach a ball to volley it while using Extra Effort - this will reduce the visual effect of players “snapping/teleporting” to the ball[/p]
[p]In Patch 4, this speed will be reduced even more, to be identical to the Extra Effort current speed (11m/s)[/p]

[p]The intent here is to let the Blade Shot exist as a way to fix things up, but fix it visually, and make it less optimal as a way to shoot at goal.[/p][p]The Ippy Slide[/p]

[p]Ippy Slide is the result of a bug, intensified by network conditions[/p]
[p]It is very visible and very common because of how easy it is to trigger, and because it uses no resources[/p]
[p]It is divisive because, while it can feel like a cool mechanic to master, it also looks like an ugly bug where the ball slides or “teleports” a long distance[/p]
[p]The “feint” effect mostly happens because the defenders are visually misled (i.e. the ball moves without anyone visually interacting with it)[/p]
[p]This goes against the concepts of credibility and fairness of Rematch[/p]
[p]We do have a number of fixes in the works, but they could have a lot of unintended effects on the ball control mechanic in general so we are being cautious on our timeline to deliver them[/p]
[p]The first fixes should arrive during Patch 4[/p]

[p]The intent for the Ippy Slide is to treat it as a visual and gameplay bug and to fix and debug it - removing all aspects of it that don’t make sense visually.[/p][p][/p][p]The Golden Boost[/p]

[p]Golden Boost is both the result of bugs as well as unintended interactions between the Extra Effort Push Ball and the Volley System[/p]
[p]A lot of these advanced use cases for the Extra Effort and Extra Effort Push Ball are interesting to us: they add a layer of mechanical depth and are restricted by your resources (Extra Effort gauge)[/p]
[p]On the other hand, everything that is caused by a bug, or is visually unacceptable must be fixed[/p]
[p]Which is why Patch 3 feels different when trying to trigger fast turns and push balls with Extra Effort - the bug fixes help us to build upon a stronger foundation
[/p]

[p]The intent in the short term is to fix the bugs linked to it, and in the mid-to-long term find ways to make dribbling with the Extra Effort deeper and faster.[/p][p][/p][p]One concrete example is a bug which allowed you to instantly do a 180 turn with Extra Effort while pushing the ball. We started fixing this bug because we could not rely on this behavior technically, and we are looking at how to make this kind of mobility available to players in a more controlled manner.[/p][p][/p][h3]THE FUTURE OF “ADVANCED” MECHANICS IN REMATCH[/h3][p][/p][p]For some players, emergent mechanics are simply glitches. To others, they are the “advanced” mechanics that allow players to express themselves mechanically.
[/p][p]Beyond the issues of bug fixes and stability, there is a question of what “advanced” dribbling mechanics bring to Rematch. This is actually a core question in Rematch’s design.[/p][p][/p][p]The more advanced and complicated mechanics are present in the game, the longer a single player will keep the ball until the confrontation is resolved. This means we see less passes and less constructive team play. It also means that you as a player might be spending a lot more time just watching your teammates play with the ball rather than actually interacting with it. Football is a team game, and Rematch is a team game, so we want to keep this behavior to a minimum.
[/p][p]Paradoxically, having glitchy and snappy dribbles might make the game feel faster to the player dribbling with the ball, but it will make it feel slower to almost everyone else on the field because they are spending less time with the ball or making meaningful positioning decisions.[/p][p]On the other hand, when the skill required to act and beat defenders is too low, it reduces the intensity of gameplay, and the variety of games. Football is also a game of skill and dribbling, and creating that little extra bit of space through a creative dribble is a core component of it. This is why we are looking at adding more depth in the game, and we have plans to build upon our mechanics and widen the variety of their utilization, relying on a foundation of stability that we are first building through bug fixes. As we do so, we will do it in a way that is balanced by our other gameplay mechanics and resource management systems.[/p][p][/p][p][dynamiclink][/dynamiclink][/p]

REMATCH: Elite Edition | Physical Edition Reveal Trailer

[p]⚽ Rematch goes physical![/p][p]The Elite Edition box drops November 14 🗓[/p][p][/p][previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]