Since the release of Overwatch 2, the number of people playing the game has dramatically increased, as you would expect since the game moved to a free-to-play model. However, this has also had the added effect of drastically shifting the current landscape of ranked distributions, making some question the validity of people with the best rank in the game, Grandmaster.
Related: How does MMR work in Overwatch 2? Your Matchmaking Ranking explained
With the added influx of players, the number of people in every rank has dramatically increased. In the original Overwatch, the Top 500 board would have some pretty strong representation from people in Masters. Now, that leaderboard is much more filled with GM players, making some question how much of an accomplishment reaching the top rank in the game actually is.
That said, there is more going into rank distributions than people reaching an arbitrary number in their MMR. As Overwatch content creator SVB has mentioned, the GM numbers have increased so much because so many more people are playing the game. The percentage of people in this rank is still just 1%. While the number of people at this rank is bigger, the percentage isn’t and the number of people you would see in Bronze, Silver, and Gold is dramatically larger than the increase you see at the top.
The discourse here comes largely from people who don’t want to acknowledge the success of others who reach that GM level. For some, these are long-time Overwatch players who would be in Diamond or Masters back then but get to the top in Overwatch 2. Comparing these people who have over six years of playing the game to those who are just starting now, of course, there will be more Grand Master ranks.
Of course, in no way does the influx of players diminish the fact that people in Grand Masters ranks are among the top-rated players on their player pool in the Competitive ladder. If you are among the 1% of players at that rank, don’t let anyone make you feel like that was not earned.
