Activision Blizzard continues to reveal details about the upcoming Overwatch 2 free-to-play PvP and paid PvE. Among the countless changes to Overwatch with Overwatch 2 is a big revamp coming to competitive play to ensure players are facing off against others in the same skill level.
The Overwatch 2 reveal event joined Summer Game Fest today, even after Overwatch 2's appearance during the Xbox and Bethesda showcase included multiple announcements for the hero shooter. At the Overwatch 2 reveal event, many details about the upcoming game were confirmed, such as information about the live service model and PvP, as well as a spotlight on the Junker Queen, new cosmetics, Mythic Skin tier, and more. Overwatch fans will be able to participate in an Overwatch 2 closed beta for console and PC also confirmed by Activision Blizzard that takes place on June 28.
During the Overwatch 2 reveal event, Activision Blizzard specified the competitive overhaul after talking about some changes to the PvP experience with its move to free-to-play. The competitive mode in Overwatch 2 will place more of an emphasis on a player's skill level rather than their rank, which is the model followed by Overwatch. This change may have been made to Overwatch 2 because the first Overwatch had smurf accounts in the Competitive game mode that were playing at a skill level beyond what their rank would suggest.
The new Skill Tier system in Overwatch 2 will match players with similar skill levels by analyzing every seven victories before being updated with five sub Skill Tiers in a more focused calculation than the Competitive in Overwatch. A reimagined Overwatch 2 scoreboard will offer far more information than the one featured in the original title, and a thorough post-match breakdown will express more than Overwatch's lower half after each match. Although Activision Blizzard teased even more details about Overwatch 2's Competitive game mode in the near future, it's currently unclear if Overwatch fans will be able to try it ahead of the game's October early access.
Because Activision Blizzard is making such a drastic revamp to the Competitive mode, it's likely that the developer noticed more skilled players in lower-ranking Overwatch matches than it was comfortable with. The Skill Tier system being brought to Competitive with Overwatch 2 hasn't been proven through public testing like the previous system, but it may be able to more accurately match players of equal skill level than Overwatch was able to do. With how massive the competitive scene for Overwatch has become, Activision Blizzard may be trying to nail the optimization of how players are matched to ensure that Overwatch 2's competitive future is as successful.
Overwatch 2 launches in early access for PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S on October 4.
