Overwatch 2 devs confirm changes coming to confusing Ranked Play system

Nathan Warby
Overwatch 2 Heroes fighting

Many Overwatch 2 players were left battled by their new ranks at the start of Season 2, and developers Blizzard have now addressed the confusion while confirming that changes to Ranked Play are coming soon.

There’s plenty to be excited about in Overwatch 2 Season 2. The new chapter of Blizzard’s hero shooter comes with a brand-new character in Ramattra and seasonal events like Winter Wonderland and Year of the Rabbit.

But the hype was dampened slightly when players logged in to check their new Competitive Ranks in Season 2. Many had been placed far lower than their end-of-season ranks, leaving those who spent hours grinding Ranked Play feeling hard done by.

Blizzard have now addressed the issue and reassured fans that they will be updating the Ranked Play system in the future.

The devs posted a message on their social accounts explaining why many players were beginning Overwatch 2 Season 2 in a much lower rank than before the update.

“At the end of every season, your final rank will be based on any matches played since your last rank update. End-of-season competitive rewards are based on your final rank,” the statements said.

Even though players will be dropped down with the start of each season, the team also confirmed that this shouldn’t affect the quality of opponents they are matches against.

“When a season begins, we apply some rank decay to all roles, and over the course of a season players should climb back to ranks that represent their true skill level. That being said, all match-made games will still be based on your underlying MMR, ensuring we’re making matches as fair as possible.”

While this goes some way to explaining how Ranked Play works in Overwatch 2, there’s no doubt that some players will still be frustrated by having to work so hard to reach their old rank. Luckily, the devs went on to reveal that they will be introducing changes to the system down the line.

“We understand that we need to do a better job making these systems more understandable and will be addressing these issues and other parts of the system in the future.”

Sadly, they didn’t go into specifics about what changes they are working, but fans will be hoping to see a smoother transition between Overwatch Season 2 and Season 3.


For more on Overwatch 2, check out why players already want to see a Ramattra buff, and how to get Golden Guns.

Image credit: Blizzard Entertainment

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About The Author

Nathan is a Senior Writer at CharlieIntel. He’s an expert in EA Sports FC, Call of Duty, and Overwatch, as well as superhero games, including Marvel’s Spider-Man. With a master's degree in Magazine Journalism from Nottingham Trent University, he worked as a Trainee Reporter for Derbyshire Live before moving into games media, with bylines at Dexerto, Cultured Vultures, and more. You can contact Nathan by email at [email protected].