• Guide

How to unlock Competitive Play - Overwatch 2

Find out what requirements need to be met to unlock Competitive Play modes in Overwatch 2.

Larryn Bell

October 16, 2022 11:30 PM

Blizzard

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While there are plenty of multiplayer modes to choose from in Overwatch 2, players will want to unlock Competitive Play to matchmake with players at higher skill levels. Competitive Play is Overwatch 2’s ranked mode and is the key to earning Competitive Points and completing certain challenges. This guide will explain how to unlock Competitive Play in Overwatch 2 so you can start climbing the ranks.

Unlocking Competitive Play works a bit differently in Overwatch 2 than it did in the first game. Previously, players needed to reach Level 25 to unlock Competitive Play. However, since player levels no longer exist in Overwatch 2, the requirement for playing Competitive has changed.

How to Unlock Competitive Play

Blizzard has implemented what they call the First-Time User Experience (FTUE) in Overwatch 2, which includes completing a guided tutorial that explains the basics of gameplay for those new to the series. New players will need to complete the full FTUE, as completing this tutorial is the first step toward accessing the game’s Competitive modes.

Along with completing the FTUE tutorial, new players must also win 50 Quick Play matches (Unranked) to unlock Competitive Play in Overwatch 2. This includes both the Role Queue and Open Queue modes. Note that the requirement is to win 50 matches, not just play them. Players can find out how many Quick Play matches they have won by navigating to the Statistics tab of their Career Profile and filtering by Quick Play in the drop-down list.

Winning the requisite 50 Quick Play games will complete the Competitive Play Qualification Challenge, granting access to all Competitive modes. Other Competitive Challenges reward players with new Player Titles and Competitive Points that can be spent on golden weapon variants for each hero.

Skill Ranks and Divisions

Competitive Play breaks down into several Skill Tiers that each contain five Divisions. In order, the Skill Tiers are Bronze, Silver, Gold, Platinum, Diamond, Master, Grandmaster, and Top 500. Divisions are ranked from five to one, with the lower numbers signifying higher skill ranks. Skill Tiers are different for each hero role and will partially reset at the beginning of each season.

Competitive Points (CP) are granted for every win or tie during Competitive Play and are distributed separately for the Skill Tier of each role. Players earn 15 CP for each win and 5 CP for each tie. Additional CP can be earned for completing Competitive Challenges and is granted at the end of each season.

Now that you know what it takes to unlock Competitive Play in Overwatch 2, head over to our Overwatch 2 page for more helpful tips.

Larryn Bell

Contributing Editor

Larryn is a freelance contributor who creates video game guides and reviews for Shacknews and has more than a decade of experience covering games across various outlets. When she's not gaming, Larryn can often be found watering houseplants, playing D&D, or teaching her cats new tricks.