REMATCH News

[p]Hello everyone!

At long last, Crossplay is also set to release alongside Patch 3, which is currently planned for early next week. Crossplay will come along with new features such as in-game player reporting. Patch 3 will also introduce long awaited updates to M&KB tap aiming, with options allowing players to tweak mouse sensitivity, as well as an option to use the old WASD mapping from the first pre-launch Beta.

Patch 3 will also introduce the first gameplay tweaks, on extra effort volley shots:
[/p]

• [p] the maximum speed at which players can lock onto volley targets during Extra Effort is now 10% lower. Extra Effort made it a bit too easy to reach certain targets, and this tweak will better challenge players on their positioning. This will also remove certain situations in which players seemed to be moving very fast towards their volley target, which felt both unrealistic and unfair. We will monitor the outcome of this tweak closely, and possibly reduce it even further in our next update.
  [/p]
• [p] Reduction in the power boost coming from aerial extra effort volley shot: performing a volley shot from extra effort will still result in a more powerful shot than regular volley shots, but this power bonus is now reduced for volley above 1m high, essentially nerfing the blade shot a little.
  [/p]

[p] These are the first steps in addressing the current meta, and there will be more to come.

We will be Beta Testing the update today, August 29th, from 5 pm to 9 pm CEST, on Steam only. To be clear, Crossplay will be unavailable during the Beta, but will go live at the same time as Patch 3. A new feedback form will be available for you to fill out where you will be able to share clips of the bugs you encountered during the Beta and provide feedback on the changes we have made.[/p][p][/p][p][dynamiclink][/dynamiclink][/p][p]If all goes well, we will release Patch 3 next week. We were initially planning to release a hotfix this week for issues such as the GK being vulnerable when shooting, but many of these fixes are part of the upcoming Patch 3, and extracting these changes to push them as standalone hotfixes was complicated and risky. [/p][p][/p][h3]Note on Patches and Stability [/h3][p]
While Patches 1 and 2 fixed important issues, they also introduced new bugs, some of which significantly impacted the gameplay. This is not acceptable, especially in a competitive context, and we want to apologize for the new issues created in the two last patches. We believed from our own internal tests that these updates were ready to be released, but it was not the case. Some bugs can be hard to find, which is why we want to run Beta Tests with our most engaged players, who are deeply familiar with the game’s mechanics, and are more likely to identify certain issues than our team of QA testers. However, there are certain bugs that we should have identified earlier and taken the time to fix, even if it meant delaying updates.

Our priority is to fix the most problematic bugs, including (but not limited to) the GK losing invulnerability when shooting, or players spawning on the wrong side of the pitch at kickoff in custom games - both of these will be fixed in Patch 3. With most of the team progressively coming back from their summer break, we are picking up the pace to improve our internal processes (code reviewing, QA testing, feedback collection, bug identification and prioritization…), in order to avoid as much as possible such issues in the future: updates and patches should always be a net improvement to the game.

As hardcore Rematch players ourselves, we are not fully satisfied with the current state of the game, and there are still a number of bugs that need to be fixed, and mechanics to be tweaked, before the game is fit for real competitive play. In our latest Mini Dev Update, we discussed some of the improvements to allow for more skill expression and teamplay, especially at high levels of play. Beyond this, we have tons of things planned for future seasons: iterations on existing mechanics to add depth and fairness to the core gameplay, new competitive features, as well as more variety in casual play, through new game modes (the first of which will be introduced during Season 1), and also improved tutorials, AI bots to train with and against, and more. We don’t have a precise roadmap we can share with you at this time, but we have long term plans for the game, and are very committed to bringing Rematch to its full potential, both for competitive and for casual players.

As always, thank you for playing Rematch and for supporting us since the launch of the game.

[dynamiclink][/dynamiclink][/p]

[h2]Patch Information[/h2] 1.200.202
August 22th, 2025

[h2]Core Gameplay[/h2]
[h3]Updates[/h3]

• Fixed the Slingshot bug and its variations where the ball would leave the player's feet (without losing possession) and warp back to the player's position when inputting EE and any ball action.
  

https://store.steampowered.com/app/2138720/REMATCH/

Hey everyone! Welcome to our second Mini Dev Update.

One hot topic right now is the question of priorities during volleys, and consequently the meta of the game. We agree that the current state of the meta needs to be addressed, but it is not as simple as adjusting or tweaking a single value, since volleys themselves are one part of multiple complex systems. This is our first post on the topic, to discuss the basics of the system, and the impact on the high-level meta / dominant strategy. Another dedicated post will feature a deeper dive on the volley system, to give more in-depth information on how the system is balanced.

[h2]VOLLEYS AND PRIORITIES (SIMPLIFIED)[/h2]
To keep it (very) simple:

1. The volley system’s objective is to find "targets" that you can perform a volley action from
   
2. What we call "targets" are future positions of the ball that you can reach by respecting a certain maximum speed (which depends on your current speed and orientation)
   
3. When a target is available, and you give a volley input, the target is selected and you will travel to that position to volley the ball from there (the player snaps to that target)
   
4. These targets represent a future position of the ball along its current trajectory, so they all have a defined “time code”
   
5. If another player selects a target that is earlier in time than yours on the trajectory, they will “beat you to the ball”, and cancel your volley
   

The system was built to challenge the player on positioning and movement dynamic, while maintaining a reactive and fluid game feel, and it works for this purpose. However, when multiple players go for very similar targets (which feels like “going for the same ball”), this can get a bit messy and unclear. The system might have selected for you a target that is 40ms later than the target your opponent selected: you would perceive these as the same ball but lose the 50/50 without having enough information to process why.

Overall, you should expect to get more targets if you try to orient yourself towards the ball’s future trajectory and keep up your movement speed towards that trajectory. This is why the Extra Effort in practice gives extra “priority” to players: it gives you a lot of extra “potential speed” to get to targets and will give you volley targets that are earlier in time, beating other players to the ball.

When two players are going for the same target, a system called the “volley stack” resolves contested volleys. Currently it is mostly in place to better manage network conditions, and to prioritize volleys by goalkeepers whenever possible. The volley stack is one of the systems which we will build upon to better manage the resolution of duels in the future, to make them more clear, and add depth to the gameplay.

To be perfectly clear, as much as we are happy with the volley system as a gameplay mechanic, we are not satisfied with the current state of contested volleys and are 100% in agreement with the community that the system needs to better manage these situations, and give priority to the right player and action at the right time.

[h2]THE META[/h2]
The current meta at higher levels seems to be focused around forcing aerial 50/50 contested volleys near the enemy goal, often after kickoff, or a catch from the Goalkeeper. This makes a lot of sense for the attacking player since:

1. As an attacker, you have very little risk (losing the ball), but very high reward (getting a good shot on goal/scoring a goal)
   
2. The setup is simple (putting an attacker up front and crossing the ball in from the center of the pitch, directly in the penalty area)
   
3. In these situations, it’s rather easy for the attackers to shoot on target, especially when coordinating vocally, but it’s too difficult for the defenders to counter the volley or win the 50/50.
   

This strategy is repetitive, uninteresting to watch, and doesn’t incentivize creative plays.

The efficiency of this strategy is due to a number of issues:

1. Issues with the defenders only having the volley as a counter. When the ball is contested closer to the ground, players can counter shots with the Defense mode, Tackles, and Dash. In aerial duels, the Outfield Dive is inadequate in its current form.
   
2. In the same way, countering a volley with a Goalkeeper diving forward outside of the box is inconsistent and cannot be relied upon, even though it is an intuitive and realistic way of responding to the situation.
   
3. The volley system itself does not do enough to communicate how it functions. This means players cannot use their knowledge of the volley system to jockey into position and beat their opponent’s positioning and decision making
   
4. Even when players do understand the system, it does not do enough to create fair resolutions of 50/50 contests
   
5. This is compounded by the Extra Effort’s ability to look for more volley targets which allows it to “force priorities” over players that are not using it
   
6. There is another issue with a mechanic in the game that is not clearly shown to players: your shots are more powerful depending on the speed of the ball and the speed of your character. This means that not only does this Extra Effort shot have an easier time getting a volley off, it also shoots with extra speed, making it even more challenging for Goalkeepers to react
   

We already have a number of solutions planned out to answer all of these topics. Some of these can be activated in the short term, and we already have some ready to deliver soon. Some others will take more time to integrate completely, but we aim to have a consistent, and stable delivery of updates that will improve the metagame over time.

[h2] NEXT STEPS [/h2]
Over the next few updates, we will:

1. Improve Outfield Dive so it becomes a more efficient defensive tool and gives defenders more options
   
2. Improve Goalkeeper dive so it picks better targets when contesting a ball that is volleyed by an opponent
   
3. Refine the volley system so that players can better control the outcome of contested 50/50s, and give the power back to defenders
   
4. Tone down the direct impact of Extra Effort on volley target picking so that it becomes less of an “I win” button
   

As discussed, we already have tweaks being tested for patch 3 that will rebalance things slightly in favor of defenders and away from extra effort aerial volley shots:

1. Reducing the maximum speed to reach a volley target while in extra effort
   
2. Reducing the impact of character speed on shot power when in the air
   

Our strategy is to identify quick solutions that will improve player experience over time, but also focus on bigger solutions that will take more time to come. As soon as we have designed, implemented and tested improvements for all the problems listed above, we will try to deliver them ASAP, and keep the community updated!

Thank you once again for playing Rematch!

Quick reminder, Patch 2 is now live, feel free to check out the patch notes below!
https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/2138720/view/625556610639462619
https://store.steampowered.com/app/2138720/REMATCH/

The multiplayer soccer game Rematch came out strong in June, despite missing one major feature: Crossplay was not enabled because of "unforeseen technical complexities." Two months later, it's still not there, but developer Sloclap says it'll be here soon...
Read more.

[h2]Patch Information[/h2]
1.200.201
Patch 2 Beta: August 14th, 2025
Release Date: Wednesday 20th, 2025

Hi everyone!

This is the second major Patch for Rematch, solving a number of major netcode related issues, such as tackles not registering, GK dive rollbacks causing goals to be scored when they shouldn’t. Achievements unlocks should also be fixed - note that achievements will not be unlocked immediately, for instance if you’re level 35 but haven’t received Pro and Elite achievements, you will need to reach level 36 to unlock both achievements.

Patch 3 should hopefully arrive by the end of August, and will fix some remaining known issues, and importantly introduce Crossplay to the game (at last!). Some gameplay tweaks might also be introduced in Patch 3 (looking at you, Ippy Slide), but that’s still to be confirmed. More news very soon!

[hr][/hr]
[h2]Matches / Core Gameplay Improvements[/h2]
[h3]Major Changes / Updates[/h3]

• Tackle improvements
  
  • Improved network resolution and rollback on tackles
    
  • Fixed an issue where sometimes a player preparing a shot cannot be tackled
    
• Fixed achievements unlocking (should affect Post to Post, Pro, Expert): if you already meet the requirements for one of these achievements, you will need to perform one more related action to unlock the achievement.
  
• Goalkeeper improvements
  
  • Fixed an issue where the GK catch/deflect seemed to play correctly, but was subject to rollback immediately after
    
  • Fixed a similar but different issue where a goal could be validated and scored even if the goalkeeper had caught or deflected the ball, causing a rollback
    
  • Fixed an issue where the goalkeeper would sometimes play the catch animation when diving close to another player
    
  • Invulnerable goalkeepers can no longer be tackled when doing an action moving them outside of the keeper area
    
• Added procedural animations so that GKs will now visibly move their arms to catch balls
  
• Reworked Ball Touch, to prevent the ball from appearing too far away from the player in possession.
  • Ball Touch is the visual system that animates the ball when in possession. This allows ball possession to be more clear but doesn’t impact gameplay, since in possession, the ball doesn’t have a hurtbox.
    
• Fixed incorrect ball position during Ball control, where the ball warped back and forth in a weird way during certain Ball Controls.
  
• Reduced Shake cam intensity on ball steal success
  
• Fixed an issue where Defense Mode deflects could be denied/ignored by the server
  
• Fixed an issue where the Defense Mode deflect animation would cancel itself prematurely when moving
  
• Fixed static ball not being controllable
  
• Multiple animation improvements and fixes.
  
• Reduced speed of walking animation
  
• New options have been added
  
  • Options can now be reset per tab
    
  • Added magnus sensitivity setting
    
• Fixed several crashes
  
  • Fixed a crash that could occur after a replay
    
  • Fixed a crash that could occur if the player performs a ball action in Freeplay as they join an Online Match
    
• Fixed the lag at the end of a match
  
• Fixed an issue where the custom match server region was different from the one selected in the options
  
• Fixed an issue where the ball would become impossible to interact with after someone in its possession disconnects
  

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

• Fixed multiple issues in tutorials and workshops
  
• Fixed AI not being goalkeeper in Score tutorial
  
• Fixed the goal collision volume not taking ball radius into account correctly
  
• Fixed ball attaching itself to shoot on kickoff
  
• Fixed the Shots on Target stat in the Player Profile
  
• Fixed the ball’s behaviour in the Main Menu and in Freeplay
  
• Optimized pause menu loading time
  
• Fixed some shop items being shown in the customization menu when they shouldn't
  
• Fixed some cases where players could clip through the pitch’s walls during celebrations
  
• Fixed the Cart Wheel celebration in 3v3
  
• Players no longer teleport after the stadium entrance cutscene
  
• Fixed an issue where changing the audio language options would create unwanted button in the user interface
  
• Fixed an issue where, when launching the game for the first time, the default audio language would be set to a language other than English.
  
• Fixed an uncommon issue where players could walk in the air
  
• The Customization menu now works correctly when the Shop is in maintenance
  
• Player customization will now be saved properly when joining a match while making changes to it
  

[h2]Menus & Interface[/h2]
[h3]Additions and updates[/h3]

• Customization - Added editable color feedback on the body part thumbnails
  
• Customization - Now only displays owned items
  
• Workshop - Added score objectives reminder in the HUD
  
• UI - Added missing mipmaps on various UI textures
  
• Store - Updated the price component design
  

[h3]Major Fixes[/h3]

• End of match - Fixed the Skip feature
  
• Store - Fixed the item tiers backgrounds
  
• Store - Fixed the bundles thumbnails display
  
• Player Profile - Fixed the Exp Gauge display
  

[h3]Misc. Fixes[/h3]

• Fixed the Button Remapping display
  
• Fixed the button prompt display in notification pop-ups
  
• Added visual feedback to identify owned Bundles in the Store
  
• Fixed the Social Panel sometimes getting stuck during the credits
  
• Fixed Rich Presence sometimes not updating properly when a friend is alone in a custom match lobby
  
• Fixed the video preview to have it loop from the start when arriving in the Store Feature tab, Bundles tab and in the Battle Pass
  
• Fixed an issue where the game would lose focus loss in the Friends List panel
  
• Fixed the descriptions of collaboration items
  
• Various UI rendering quality improvements
  

[h2]Art / Rendering[/h2]
[h3]Additions and updates[/h3]

• Improved the Player Card lighting in the Customization menu
  
• Improved the Goal Celebration cutscene lighting during the match
  
• Various Stadium & VR optimizations
  
• Added a colour control setting for eyelashes
  
• Improved Global GPU/Rendering performances
  
• Improved GPU/Rendering performances for Low/Medium settings during the Prologue
  

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

• Fixed AR Reactions not playing properly from the Celebration to Replay transition, and from the Replay to the kickoff Countdown transition
  
• Fixed the wind animation for foliage during goal bursts
  
• Fixed displaced meshes on the main character’s hairstyle in the Prologue
  
• Fixed Radar Bounces clearing too early when the previous ball's owner shoots
  
• Added missing thumbnails for some tattoos
  
• Fixed missing animations for low resolution crowd
  
• Fixed visual artefact where character outlines would be visible through the character's hair
  

[h2]Audio[/h2]
[h3]Major Changes / Updates[/h3]

• Various user interface sound-related issues have been fixed
  

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

• Fixed the gameflow transition sequence when going back to the Main Menu
  
• Fixed a bug where the sound of the ball trail was playing loudly during the kickoff animation
  
• Fixed an issue preventing the countdown sound effect to start while playing in the Water Stadiums, Wind Stadiums and Mountains VR
  

[h2]Known Issues[/h2]
[h3]Matches / Core Gameplay[/h3]

• Sometimes, aerial volley animations are cancelled mid air but the actions are correctly triggered
  
• The invulnerability visual feedback for the goalkeeper can sometimes be missing
  
• Ball steal priority present for standing tackle over sliding tackle
  
• Desync can be caused upon repeatedly switching between Windowed and Fullscreen mode while shooting
  
• Games end abruptly after 60mn with no indications for players
  
• Sometimes, the pre-catch animation as Goalkeeper is triggered but does not connect with the ball
  
• The ball can sometimes appear to suddenly warp/snap to another position after tackle interactions
  
• Ball desync present upon reconnecting to a session following a deflect
  
• Misplaced AI pathing during the "Tackle" portion of the prologue
  
• Ippy Slide: Catching the ball during an Extra Effort transition can make the ball appear to warp/snap to another position
  
• Player ball catch/ball control is triggered even if the ball is moved out of the control range instantly
  
• Missing ball control functionality after recovering from a tackle without moving.
  
• Title crashes during the Movement Tutorial if the Player waits too long during the second Oriented Control Step.
  
• Corrupted replay camera in Spectator mode.
  
• Players can become spectators upon multiple players getting backfilled (joining an ongoing match) into a Quick Match.
  
• Shoot priority overrides the Defense Mode Ball Control upon receiving a pass.
  
• Inconsistency between invulnerability circle UI and timer when tackling an ally as GK.
  

[h3]Menus / Interface[/h3]

• The player character’s color palette can be overridden with the Equipment color while previewing Special skins.
  
• In specific situations, the ranking promotion displays incorrect information to the player.