“Overwatch’s” Summer Games 2017 seasonal event only has less than a week left. Furthermore, the current Competitive Season 5 is about to wrap up as well. Hardcore Competitive mode players are apparently already waiting for the new details regarding Season 6. Blizzard Entertainment reportedly shared the new details fans can expect for the new season. Based on their Gamescom 2017 presentation, the detailed changes appear to be very significant this time around.

‘Overwatch’ season length changes for Competitive mode

Currently, “Overwatch” players have three months each season to earn points. Blizzard Entertainment plans to reduce the length into two months per season moving forward. The new rules will obviously affect the number of Competitive Points (CP) players can earn per season. Game director, Jeff Kaplan, notes that the shorter season could also present more chances to earn CP. The dev team also estimates that the current gain rate for CP should net gamers enough to move up in rank.

Reason for the change

Blizzard Entertainment explains that players used to slack off in the last few weeks into the Competitive season.

Therefore, a shorter period should encourage them to put some effort to earn more CP in order to maintain their standings. Next, placement matches should become more frequent due to the shorter period allocated. Moreover, the new changes will also affect placement matches, which should rate each player’s performance more accurately. Recently, there were still some gamers who posted their complaints about the accuracy of the ratings after their placement matches.

Rule changes for more balance

In their developer update video, the developers revealed even more tweaks to Competitive matches. Season 6 will change how much each player’s skill rating goes down after a loss. Matches fought on control maps will become shorter from best out of five to best out of three.

Higher-tier matches will become more balanced due to the updated ranking system. Overall, all of the listed changes appear to be positive for “Overwatch”. The only downside indicated by the developer would be longer wait times during higher-tier matches, which is the result of a better matchmaking logic than before.

Alterations won’t stop there

Fans are already aware of how frequent changes are applied to “Overwatch”. Blizzard Entertainment has continually pushed updates and balance changes to enhance gameplay. Obviously, gamers appreciate their effort and support their game even more. Season 6 is sure to shake up the Competitive scene and it will be exciting to see what the developers have in store for the future.