It was announced that Overwatch would not be launching with its Competitive Play mode. For more competitive players in the game, this is no doubt a kind of a letdown, although the good news is that Blizzard did state that they were aiming for a June release, although it looks like Blizzard could be cutting it pretty close.Blizzard has announced that the Competitive Play mode will be returning to the Public Test Region. For those unfamiliar with the PTR, this is basically an open beta of sorts for all their games where Blizzard will make tweaks to spells, features, quests, and so on while players get to test it live. This helps Blizzard get a better idea of how players react to the changes before they are implemented across the board.
So essentially by putting Competitive Play into the PTR, it looks like Blizzard is now one step closer to launching it for Overwatch players. According to Blizzard, “We’ve also made a number of changes to Overwatch’s match format for Competitive Play. Some of these changes are simple interface changes, while others ensure that maps and modes don’t favor one side or another—plus we’ve added a sudden death mechanic that ensures tied games are broken as fairly as possible.”
The developer also notes that since Competitive Play is meant to be a more “serious” aspect of the game, there will be harsher penalties imposed on players who quit games halfway or AFK for extended periods of time. Gamers interested in participating in the PTR can find out the details on how on Blizzard’s website.