Overwatch Competitive Play Lands On Xbox One Along With Nerfs, Bug Fixes

Well, that was quick: after launching on PC earlier just a few days ago, Overwatch's competitive mode has landed on Xbox One, bringing with it long-awaited nerfs to two very popular characters. Competitive mode has been missing from Overwatch up until now, with Blizzard opting to remove and rework the mode while the game was still in beta. Now it returns to the immensely popular game, giving players the chance to test their skill in an environment that is conceivably more focused on teamwork and communication.

We say "conceivably" because as any solo player will tell you, that isn't always the case, even in competitive mode where pick up groups should be aware that the stakes are higher. After playing through an initial 10 placement matches, players are given a ranked skill level between 1 and 100, progressing toward the next skill level after every win and falling closer to the previous one after every loss. Like Hearthstone and Heroes of the Storm, two other Blizzard titles, Overwatch's competitive play will be split up into seasons, with ranks resetting every three months and everyone starting over.

One draw of competitive mode will be the ability players have to earn competitive points. Those can, in turn, be used to buy golden weapon skins for your favorite heroes. At the moment, weapon skins are the only thing that can be purchased with competitive points, though we'd personally like to see Blizzard roll out more rewards in the future. Special skins that can only be purchased with competitive points, perhaps?

Blizzard has also pushed a few bug fixes and nerfs along with this patch. McRee and Widowmaker had their damage reduced a couple of weeks back in the PC version, and those nerfs have now made their way onto Xbox One. Players will probably be disappointed to hear, however, that the promised nerfs to Torbjorn are still nowhere in sight. Blizzard has also pushed a couple of bug fixes with this patch, most notably fixing an issue that prevented players from leaving post-match lobbies as a group. Now that this update is live, will you be jumping into competitive mode, or do you see yourself sticking to quick play for the foreseeable future?