Blizzard Entertainment is currently at work on Overwatch's Competitive Play mode, which it hopes to bring back in the game's first major update. In a developer Q&A on Facebook today, seen above, director Jeff Kaplan explained that reworking the mode, which recently went back into development after time in a closed beta, is the team's current focus.
Competitive Play mode wasn't available in the recent open beta, and won't be offered upon Overwatch's full launch tomorrow. Instead, Kaplan teased that Blizzard hoped to reintroduce it into the game within the next month.
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"I don't want to promise an exact date," Kaplan said. "My rough commitment — or not commitment — would be sometime toward the end of June, middle-to-end of June."
When it does come back, the tier-based mode will feature some changes based on players' feedback. These include revising the length of seasons, making them longer than one month, as they originally lasted. Kaplan said players can expect seasons to run for two-and-a-half months, followed by several weeks off.
Blizzard is also shaking up Sudden Death, changing how frequently it appears. More information will come closer to the update's release, Kaplan said.
Kaplan also fielded questions about a possible sequel with a single-player campaign ("More likely for Overwatch, even more than single-player, is something more cooperative," he said) and the game's relationship to Titan, Blizzard's canceled MMO that shares some DNA with Overwatch. In Titan, Kaplan explained, there was a police force named Overwatch — something that directly carried over into the upcoming hero shooter.
Fans can also look forward to a new season of animated shorts and more digital comics, he said. For now, they can look forward to the PlayStation 4, Windows PC and Xbox One game's full release tonight: Overwatch unlocks at 7 p.m. ET. To watch the full interview, which begins at 6:35, check out the video above.
