UPDATE 19th July: In a lengthy developer update released on the Overwatch YouTube channel last night, Jeff from the Overwatch Team sat down to explain one of the biggest changes to hit Overwatch since they introduced the hero limit.
Developer Update | Role Queue | Overwatch Watch on YouTube
The main takeaway from this update is that as of 1st September, a 2-2-2 role queue will be released on all platforms for all game modes – including Quick Play and some Arcade modes. This is a massive change to the way Overwatch is played, but the team know this won’t go down well with everyone so they’re implementing a new game mode called Quick Play Classic, which will live in the Arcade area and allow players to hop into games without the role queue.
For PC players, role queue is live on the PTR right now, but to make sure the matchmaking works across platforms there’ll be a beta competitive season on PC, PS4 and Xbox One from 15th August until 1st September.
Players will now receive a competitive SR based on each individual role, making it possible to be diamond in the tank role and silver as DPS for example, and placement matches will change to reflect this as well – rather than 10 matches to receive an overall rating, you’ll have the choice to do five matches for each role. So if there’s a particular role you don’t want to play, no one can force you into it. There’s an incentive to do so however, as players will receive a reward for choosing roles that aren’t as popular to keep matchmaking queue times lower, though we don’t know yet what the reward will be.