Activision Blizzard is undertaking significant alterations to Overwatch 2 in a bid to breathe new life into the free-to-play shooter. The overhaul aims to enhance the PvP (player versus player) experience, making gameplay more gratifying and engaging while also providing players with greater transparency within the game.
In a candid blog post, the development team acknowledged that they have been attentive to player feedback regarding competitive play over the past eight seasons. They have outlined plans to implement substantial updates to empower players to hone their skills effectively and understand their progress through the competitive ranks.
“We have devised an improved system that not only enhances accuracy but also elucidates the intricacies of modern matchmaking algorithms, offering clear insights into the factors influencing your rank in each match,” the team stated.
Addressing a common concern raised by players, the team emphasized the importance of understanding why ranks fluctuate. Thus, they have decided to revert to updating ranks after every match and illustrating the progress gained or lost between each Skill Division, thereby enhancing transparency in matchmaking.
Furthermore, the team will introduce Modifiers that impacted the previous match beneath the rank progression bar, aiming to offer transparency in matchmaking for each game.
“We value feedback greatly, and these changes are driven by it. We eagerly anticipate hearing your thoughts on Competitive Play now that you’ll have more contextual information for each match,” the team emphasized.
Recognizing Overwatch 2 as fundamentally competitive, the team is committed to ensuring that core systems and the Competitive System are intuitive and accessible. Alongside these core system adjustments, reworks for Pharah and Junkertown are slated for discussion in a forthcoming blog post.
Overwatch 2 – Season 9: Champions is scheduled to launch on February 13th. The upcoming season will introduce additional changes, including a new progression system, a new skill tier above Grand Master, and significant gameplay alterations to combat, hero survivability, and role passives.
Director Aaron Keller emphasized that the impetus for change stemmed from the community itself, noting that feedback from players, alongside the team’s vision, will collectively make the game more enjoyable and challenging for everyone.
