Following the release of the Oasis map and the buffs and nerfs given to specific characters, Overwatch director Jeff Kaplan gives an update on the game and talks about the Public Test Realm (PTR). He touches on issues like incentive for participating in PTR, and says that Blizzard has some ideas in the works, but it might take some time to be implemented.
According to the video posted by the Overwatch team, many players have been asking for some incentive when it comes to participating in the PTR. To some who may be unaware, the PTR exists so the developers can iron out all the bugs and kinks that could be in a game before it goes live for the rest of the community. Participating in the PTR will let players help Blizzard directly on patching up the game so that it will be close to perfect on release, but then again, it comes with no incentive, and the only benefit that players get for participating in PTR is getting to try out the updates first.
Some recommended incentives could be the transfer of XP from PTR to the main game as well as loot box rewards, but Kaplan says that adding those features would add up development time for the team - time that could be better spent on patching up the main game. Kaplan also noted that adding incentives to PTR could possibly steer away from focus on the main game. Nevertheless, the idea has been thrown around by the developers, and players can expect to be rewarded at some point for their participation in the PTR.
As for the console gamers who also wish to participate in the PTR, Kaplan says that it could be a bit complicated seeing as the servers for those games are owned by Microsoft and Sony. Opening up the PTR for PC is easy since Blizzard has Battle Net, but for console, it looks like the developers will have to go around a lot of red tape just to allow PTR for the console gamers.
Players should expect constant changes coming to Overwatch as time passes, and with a new character said to be coming along, Blizzard will need all the help in the PTR that they can get.
Overwatch is now playable for PS4, Xbox One and PC.
