Overwatch Dev Diary Explores the Thinking Behind Ranked Matchmaking

Blizzard has released a new developer diary for Overwatch, its upcoming team-based competitive shooter for PC, Xbox One, and PS4. The video is the second in a series where developers address popular community issues. This time, it's ranked play and matchmaking.

Discussing these issues is Jeff Kaplan, game director of Overwatch, who opens by noting that the team knows players have "a lot of thought and investment in what ranked and competitive play might be," but added that he doesn't have "a firm design to put forward" yet.

Kaplan goes on to say the studio is currently exploring how best to implement these aspects of the game and discusses the two schools of thought for competitive matchmaking at the studio. While some want to create a system that ranks the best in the world, others just want a serious competitive scenario where everyone picks heroes and plays roles appropriately.

The video, which is 12-minutes long, is a really interesting insight into the balancing act Blizzard faces as developers and the intricacies of creating an online multiplayer ecosystem.

Overwatch is expected to launch in 2016, but a specific release date has not been announced.

Toy company Funko has announced a new line of Pop! figures based on the game's characters. The lineup of figures includes adorable versions of Tracer, Reaper, Widowmaker, and Winston the gorilla. You can see these in the gallery below.

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