Overwatch is doing much better than Blizzard could have hoped for with a new IP; but the developer is not quite done with the game yet. A competitive ranked mode is still in the works, despite Game Director Jeff Kaplan refusing to provide a timeline for when it will be ready.
Kaplan also warned that the first iteration of the ranked mode may require additional tweaks before the developers are satisfied with how it works. The version trialed during the closed beta received a large amount of criticism, which has apparently sent the team back to the drawing board. Blizzard is also contemplating a public test of ranked play before making it go live.
“So Competitive Play is quite a big effort for us this time around — almost as much work as the first version. But it’s really far along. We’re playtesting it multiple times a day. We’re also looking into/debating putting up a Public Test Realm for this feature so that we can test it in a larger environment before putting it live. Even when it goes live, I anticipate our first few seasons will require iteration on the feature,” wrote Kaplan in a forum post.
New heroes and maps are also in the works for later this year – or in early 2017 latest. There is at least one map already with Blizzard’s art department and should be ready for release relatively soon; while there are a number of other maps and heroes in the prototyping stage.
Kaplan also reiterated that all this new content will be available for free, without any extra charges to players. All this new content will be released as free updates to the game whenever it is ready for release.
[Source: Battle.net]
