Competitive Play is the new ranked mode for Overwatch that we've been hearing about for months. Still on track to debut in the coming weeks, Overwatch Game Director Jeff Kaplan has utilised the latest developer update video to brief players on how it will work. Remember the tier-based progression system from the beta? Well, that's gone. In its place we've got a new skill-rating and matchmaking system that aims to give players a better sense of taking part in a seasonal event.

As for the seasons themselves they'll run in conjunction with the northern hemisphere seasons, with the first Overwatch Competitive Play season to be themed around summer. Each season will run for roughly two and a half months, with a short break between seasons.

The ranking system will now focus on a skill rating, first obtains from playing placement games. A person's skill rating will be visible to all players and teams themselves will be given an overall skill rating. It's expected that through continuous play you'll see your skill rating rise and fall depending on performance.

In terms of balance, the rating system will take into account who you go up against, so if you're matched up against a higher skilled team then you'll be rewarded more for in-game performance. Also with the Competitive Play Blizzard are looking at certain maps and things like sudden death to ensure they're more balanced for both attackers and defenders.

Blizzard intends to tweak and improve the system as time goes on, and it'll be great to finally to our skills to the test. Here's hoping we have what it takes to unlock some of the seasonal cosmetic rewards, like golden weapons for characters.