GameRanger founder Scott Kevill recently put the word out that the service will gain a new feature of import to status-conscious gamers: Ladders, rankings and ratings.
GameRanger is a Mac-only online game matching service that provides chat capabilities and server tracking for popular cross-platform games. The service is available in free and Premium versions, and the new ranking capabilities will be added to the Premium service, according to Kevill.
Online players using game matching services utilize ladders, rankings and ratings as a way of seeing how they’re doing compared to other players; it generates some rivalry between top-ranked players and also serves as a way to make sure that players are competing in the same class as each other.
Kevill noted that with the exception of cooperative-only games, GameRanger will support all titles with the new ranking functionality. What’s more, multiple ladders will be supported per game to support each game’s unique game types.
The news of the new ranking system comes with the approach of GameRanger Premium’s first anniversary. The US$49.95 Premium service provides users with exclusive features like in-game voice communication, buddy list groups, extra personalization and other capabilities.
GameRanger presently supports more than 100 game titles developed by commercial and shareware Mac game publishers. The service has approximately 150,000 subscribers.
The ladder, ranking and rating service will be publicly tested on the site before it becomes a release feature. GameRanger Premium users will be able to participate in the trial once it’s ready.