Queue: What does it mean to queue up?

Queueing up is sort of like a waiting line for players where they have to let the game match them with other gamers so that they can join a server or a match. While titles don’t need to have it, all games include it so that every player has a comfortable experience playing it.

A queue takes many factors, like region and skill, into account when a user enters it so that only compatible players are paired with one another. For example, in a game like Overwatch, if someone joins a casual queue, the system only looks for players in the same region, unlike the ranked queue, which takes each player’s matchmaking rating into account as well.

How to decrease queue times?

As mentioned previously, queue times depend on numerous factors, but that doesn’t mean players have to wait for long periods to enter a match, as they can change some settings that will make matchmaking quicker. Something a user can change in games is the region they play on, as queuing for multiple areas means there are more gamers to match up with. In addition, players can also queue for casual modes instead of being competitive, as the former doesn’t look at skill ratings.

However, some games don’t let users change settings, so instead, what players can do is play when the title’s traffic is high. A good time to queue for games is during the weekends, as that’s when most gamers are online. This method won’t always work since some games don’t have an active enough player base, so the best thing to do in that situation is to look for something else to play.