Following Blizzard's announcement earlier this year that it was considering bringing 6v6 matches to Overwatch 2, having abandoned them when moving from Overwatch 1 to its sequel, the studio has now made its reintroduction official: 6v6 is coming to Overwatch 2 in full form. of two tests. modes next season, and Blizzard says it will “closely watch the results”
When Blizzard revealed that it was mulling the return of 6v6 in July, it explained that the original mode could have “really highs, but really lows” in Overwatch 1, and that 5v5 was ultimately selected for Overwatch 2 in an attempt to “raise that floor.” , even though it came at the expense of some of those important moments.” However, the studio acknowledged that the changes had come “at the cost of match variety and player freedom”, so it was looking at how 6v6 could be reintroduced.
And now, four months after that announcement, Blizzard has confirmed the imminent return of 6v6. In a new post on the Overwatch website, game director Aaron Keller said the studio will introduce “two different 6v6 tests” as part of the upcoming Overwatch 2 Season 14. The first of these will be released a week after the season and will be an Open Queue Variation: requires each team to have at least one of each role, but no more than three, and players can switch roles on the fly during a match, as long as the limit is not exceeded.
Blizzard's second 6v6 test will arrive as part of the Season 14 mid-season update, offering the classic 2-2-2 team composition while incorporating some of Overwatch 2's “new principles”, such as less control of crowds and reworking of heroes. Both trial modes will feature 6v6-specific rebalancing, such as a reduction in tank power and survivability, but will still have their own card in Unranked alongside other modes. Keller says the goal of Season 14's 6v6 format testing is to understand if “it can make the core game even stronger,” adding that he will “closely watch the reception and results of these tests.”
“In the world where a wave of players are joining this mode and playing it continuously, then we have the signal that we need to do more with it,” Keller continued. “I think that 'more' depends on the level of excitement. Is there a world where 5v5 and 6v6 permanently exist in Overwatch 2? If you had asked me a few months ago, I would have said no. Like us.” “We've discussed the future of Overwatch 2…we know our players may want more than one experience, and it would be something we would need to consider moving forward.”
In particular, Blizzard is not holding back in experimenting with a possible 6v6 mode. It also plans to test variants of Overwatch 2's existing 5v5 mode as part of Season 13, examining “flexibility within this format.” There's a Quick Play: Hacked variant coming soon called Limit 2, which limits each role per team to two, and there's a mid-season mode called Kingmaker that will feature the Limit 2 role cap and grant a bonus to the player who doesn't. share a role. .
Blizzard says it will have more information on all of the above “closer to their releases.”