Overwatch beta now has ranked competitive play

It's still only in beta, but Blizzard has already implemented a ranked competitive playlist in Overwatch. Rolled out earlier this week as part of a major new patch, Competitive Play can be accessed via the main 'Play' menu, but only if you've already reached level 25 in the regular, casual playlists. Players will compete "through a series of divisions and tiers in monthly seasons," the update reads.

There's more that's new: Blizzard has introduced a system to clamp down on match leavers. If players make a habit of leaving games too often they'll get a message gently advising them to stop, and if they don't, they'll be punished with 75% less XP for future games. Punishments will be based on the player's game completion percentage, based on their last 20 games. Shaking off the 75% XP punishment is also determined by behaviour over the course of 20 games.

But wait, there's more! There's a bunch of new progression awards (skins, sprays, player icons), as well as tweaks to various maps and heroes. The full patch notes are over here, and yeah, for what's it worth, Tracer's new pose rolls out with this update too.

Shaun Prescott is the Australian editor of PC Gamer. With over ten years experience covering the games industry, his work has appeared on GamesRadar+, TechRadar, The Guardian, PLAY Magazine, the Sydney Morning Herald, and more. Specific interests include indie games, obscure Metroidvanias, speedrunning, experimental games and FPSs. He thinks Lulu by Metallica and Lou Reed is an all-time classic that will receive its due critical reappraisal one day.