Overwatch Competitive Play Is Now Available on the PC

Blizzard promised us that Overwatch would receive competitive play about a month ago, and it looks like the company has made good on its word by actually implementing this feature in one of its most popular titles. It’s worth noting that ranked play is currently only available on the PC, but PlayStation 4 and Xbox One users will also receive it within one week. Furthermore, in order to make sure that players actually have a “solid understanding” of the game’s mechanics, heroes and maps before trying out this new mode, the devs decided to restrict it to users who are under level 25.

Similar to the system implemented in the Heroes of the Storm MOBA, Overwatch’s ranked mode has players go through ten “placement matches” before they are actually able to begin their ranked career. Competitive Play will include four seasons every year inspired by Earth’s actual seasons, which means that the Summer 2016 season will actually last for one and a half months instead of two and a half months, which will be the general rule. The game’s developers issued an official blog post, which includes the following statement:

“At the end of a season, anyone who has completed the 10 placement matches will receive a special spray and player icon, with a new set of designs being released every season. On top of that, the weapons locker is about to get a little shinier. As you win matches, you’ll earn Competitive Points. Based on your performance, you’ll also receive a number of points at the end of the season. These Competitive Points can be exchanged for cosmetic Golden Weapons for your heroes. At some point during each season, we’ll also activate a leaderboard system that will highlight the top 500 players on your platform.”