Jeff Kaplan reveals Overwatch Competitive getting Open & Role Queues

Overwatch Director Jeff Kaplan revealed that the game’s Competitive Open Queue will be available as a permanent mode alongside Role Queue later on in 2020.

Kaplan revealed that Open Queue, which is currently available in the Arcade, would be available as a permanent Competitive mode alongside Role Queue starting possibly as soon as July.

The mode is set to leave the Arcade very soon, but Jeff has assured us that it will be back later on in the Summer of 2020, before it becomes a full-fledged Competitive mode.

“It’s actually been fascinating to watch the response to Competitive Open Queue,” Jeff said. “Across the world, people play Competitive Open Queue in very different ways”

“For example, in Korea, Competitive Open Queue in Arcade is the second most popular mode being played right now,” he continued. “While in North America Competitive Open Queue is less popular than Mystery Heroes, or even Workshop modes being played in the game browser.”

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Despite it’s different levels of popularity across the globe, Kaplan told us developers intend to bring Open Queue back, before making it a permanent Competitive mode later on this year.

“Very shortly, Competitive Open Queue will come down for a while,” Jeff explained. “We are going to work very quickly, as quickly as we can, to bring back another shortened arcade version of Competitive Open Queue that will go live sometime in June, we’re thinking mid-June, but don’t hold me exactly to that date.”

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“Then, in early July when Season 23, the normal Competitive Season starts, Competitive Open Queue will now become an official mode that will be supported alongside the Role Queue Competitive Queue, if that makes sense,” he laid out. “You’ll go to the Play menu of Overwatch, you’ll select the Competitive card, then underneath the Competitive card will be two options: one will be Role Queue… and alongside of that will be Competitive Open Queue.

Even though Open Queue will be available as a Competitive option, he said that Overwatch would still be “tuned and balanced around” Role Queue by developers for the foreseeable future.

So, for those of you that have been wishing for another option to hop into other than Role Queue for comp, there is light at the end of the tunnel. We just have to wait a few more months to get there.