It's been a year since the official sequel to Blizzard Entertainment's first-person hero shooter, Overwatch, was released. While initially met with a lukewarm response from loyal Overwatch gamers, the game development team has been hard at work improving the Overwatch 2 experience for players. Most recently, a blog post from Blizzard states that the team is exploring how they can "test different forms of 6v6 in the game to gauge the results." For those unfamiliar with the Overwatch games, the first iteration was widely known for its 6v6 format, setting it apart from other esports shooter titles like Counter-Strike or Valorant. The release of Overwatch 2 in 2023, however, saw the 6v6 format reduced to 5v5.
Now, Blizzard is interested in bringing the classic format back. Game director Aaron Keller also noted issues like hero balancing, game performance, and queue times as current priorities of the development team. Overwatch 2 also removed one tank role from each team as a shift from its predecessor, a decision that long-time players weren't initially happy with. While the shift to 5v5 allowed for a more organized and structured approach to the game's varied objectives, the old 6v6 system allowed for more chaotic gameplay, considering tanks played a large and explosive role in the meta.
At the same time, developers also noted that the average competitive queue times decreased significantly upon the switch to 5v5 format, from an average of 7.6 minutes down to 2.8 minutes. While seemingly a small change, longer queue times can frustrate players looking to grind up the Overwatch ranks. Still, the 6v6 format is a well-loved and known format among long-time Overwatch fans, and the news that Blizzard's team is considering the shift back to the classic is certainly a great step forward to regain its former player base and fandom.
The State of Overwatch 2
Like many other video games today, Overwatch 2 is committed to releasing new content to motivate and entice fans and players. In our previous post, we highlighted the game's recent collaboration with the Transformers franchise, bringing Transformers-inspired themes and content to Overwatch. Four heroes in the game received new Transformers-themed skins as part of the collab. This included Reinhardt's Optimus Prime, Bastion's Bumblebee, Ramatra's Megatron, and Illari's Arcee skins. Fans described the collaboration as one of the best Transformers content in recent years.
Overwatch 2 fans were also greeted with a summer event, with the annual Summer Games event bringing back fan-favorite game modes like the soccer-inspired Lucioball and a competitive beach volleyball match. The event also introduced summer-themed skins and items, including Lifeguard Mercy, Surfer Moira, and Swimmer Doomfist skins for players who participated in Summer Games 2024.
Alongside the Summer Games in July, Overwatch 2 also announced a new character joining the growing roster of heroes. Blizzard shared a trailer featuring the new support hero Juno, whose abilities seemed to focus on mobility and providing long-range healing. While players will have to wait until Season 12 kicks off for Juno to join the roster officially, Juno was made available as a limited-time hero trial upon her reveal trailer. Based on the trailer, Juno uses her assault rifle-like Mediblaster to heal allies and take down enemies, making her a familiar character to fans of old-timer Overwatch healer hero, Lucio.
Aside from Juno's reveal, three new heroes were introduced upon Overwatch 2's release in 2023: Sojourn, Junker Queen, and Kiriko. So, while much of the new game's gameplay and pacing is similar to its predecessor, Blizzard has also committed to creating a renewed and refreshing Overwatch experience for long-time and newcomer players.
Overwatch 2 Esports Scene
One of the key elements of Overwatch's popularity over the years is its thriving esports scene. The official Overwatch League (OWL) has long been home to the game's esports community, many of whom participate in Overwatch betting to root for their most fancied players and teams. Betting platform Thunderpick offers a range of Overwatch bets and odds and supports cryptocurrency, making it a good avenue for Overwatch fans looking to keep up with OWL matches while showing support for their teams. At its peak, the Overwatch League consisted of 5–6 month-long seasons where 20 teams from the East and West compete for the ultimate championship and prize pool. Teams that performed well in the Regular Season and Grand Finals MVPs were also known to receive a cash prize of $100,000.
Unfortunately, shortly before the release of Overwatch 2, Blizzard officially announced it was closing the OWL. This move was met with panic across the industry as fans dubbed it the "death of Overwatch esports." However, Blizzard announced the all-new Overwatch Champions Series (OWCS) in early 2024 as a renewed esports system for the sequel game. This announcement saw many familiar and top-performing organizations, like esports team Toronto Defiant, rejoining the OW esports scene under a new circuit. Previously, the team had exited the OWL shortly before the league's official demise. Since the announcement for OWCS, Toronto Defiant has stated they are excited to enter the Overwatch Champions Series and "are fully committed to showcasing our team's talent to the global community."
To help draw further hype for Overwatch's new official esports league, Blizzard has also partnered with gaming streaming platform Twitch. As the OWCS enters a new round of stages in August, Overwatch esports fans and viewers can earn OWCS-themed Twitch drops depending on how long they tune into matches for. For example, watching an OWCS stream for two hours grants players the OWCS 2024 player icon, while watching for ten hours results in an OWCS charm, which players can later equip in-game.
While there's no telling where Overwatch 2 will take fans and players in the future, it's certainly promising to see that the developers care about improving quality-of-life aspects like queue times while not turning their backs on classic factors like the 6v6 format. With an all-new esports league gearing up to pit the best competitive OW players around the world against each other, it's safe to say Overwatch 2 is on its way to winning back fans' hearts.
