News

Rematch’s First Netcode 2.0 Beta Is Tentatively Planned for October 13

The redesign puts the server in charge of tackles, goalkeeper dives, catches, and ball control before players see contact.

Bojan Kicevski1 minute ago

0 2 2 minutes read

Rematch graphic for a dev blog about Netcode 2.0 and the next beta.

Rematch’s first public Netcode 2.0 beta is tentatively planned for October 13. The test will put a major change to the game’s online contacts in players’ hands, as Sloclap explained in its Steam dev blog.

October 13 is later than the first-half-of-October window Sloclap outlined on October 2. The studio says internal tests have produced a more consistent online experience, but it wants feedback from public matches before the new system reaches live servers. The work has also occupied much of the team, putting other core gameplay improvements on hold until Netcode 2.0 is finished.

How Netcode 2.0 changes contact calls

Currently, a player’s game predicts whether an action connects, shows that result, and then sends it to the server for a ruling. If the server disagrees, the game corrects the prediction. Those corrections can look like rollbacks or desyncs, and contested plays can end with a tackle or save that appeared successful being overturned.

Netcode 2.0 moves those decisions to the server. When a player starts a tackle, dive, catch, or ball control, the server will determine when and where the contact happens and share the result with everyone while the animation is still winding up. That should put the contact and the ball’s new path in the same place on each player’s screen. The animations will keep their current total length, though their timing within the wind-up will adjust.

Players will notice a 50-millisecond wait before their character’s animation begins, about 3 frames at 60 fps. Their inputs will still reach the server immediately. Sloclap says the brief delay gives the server time to confirm a result before it appears onscreen, while allowing players to see other characters’ actions in full rather than encountering animations that begin late or get corrected.

The first beta will use a fixed input delay

For this beta, the delay will be the same for everyone. Sloclap says a later beta will add a setting to adjust it. A longer delay can give the server more time to confirm actions, which may reduce corrections for players with high ping. The studio says those players may still see more corrections than before, particularly during quick actions, and recommends choosing the server region closest to them.

The change is also meant to make contested plays fairer. Today, the server can judge a hit using the perspective of the player who initiated it, which may come from an older view when that player has high ping. With the new system, the server will decide each hit once for everyone, so one player’s connection cannot override the others’ view.

Rollbacks will not disappear entirely. Packet loss, an unstable connection, or very high ping can still lead to corrections, especially when an action’s wind-up is too short for the server to notify everyone in time. Sloclap also plans to add more in-game feedback to help players tell connection problems apart from gameplay issues.

Players can send feedback and bug reports through Rematch’s feedback platform. Sloclap asks for specific examples, reproduction steps, how often an issue occurs, and whether the player used a controller or mouse and keyboard. Videos should show the player’s inputs onscreen.

Which part of Rematch’s online play do you most want the beta to improve? For more on the test of contested tackles, saves, and ball control, follow along on X, Bluesky, YouTube, Instagram, Steam, and Telegram.

Control one player on your team and compete in fast-paced 5v5 matches from an immersive third-person perspective. Team up with your friends and join the action.