Overwatch 2 is testing the return of 6v6 subsequent season, and Blizzard will probably be ‘watching the outcomes carefully’

Following Blizzard’s announcement earlier this yr it was contemplating bringing 6v6 matches to Overwatch 2, having ditched them when it transitioned from Overwatch 1 to its sequel, the studio has now made their reintroduction official: 6v6 will come to Overwatch 2 within the type of two check modes subsequent season, and Blizzard says it will be ‘watching the outcomes carefully’

When Blizzard revealed it was mulling over 6v6’s return again in July, it defined the unique mode might have “actually excessive, highs, however reaaaally low, lows” in Overwatch 1, and that 5v5 was finally chosen for Overwatch 2 in a bid to “increase that flooring, despite the fact that it was on the expense of a few of a few of these excessive moments.” Nevertheless, the studio acknowledged the modifications had come “at the price of match selection and participant freedom” and so it was taking a look at how 6v6 might probably be reintroduced.

And now, 4 months on from that announcement, Blizzard has confirmed 6v6’s imminent return. In new submit on the Overwatch web site, sport director Aaron Keller stated the studio will probably be introducing “two totally different 6v6 exams” as a part of Overwatch 2’s upcoming Season 14. The primary of those is about to launch every week into the season and will probably be a variation of Open Queue – requiring every workforce to have no less than one in all every position however not more than three, with gamers in a position to swap roles on the fly throughout a match so long as the restrict is not damaged.

Blizzard’s second 6v6 check will arrive as a part of Season 14’s mid-season refresh, providing the basic 2-2-2 workforce composition whereas incorporating a few of Overwatch 2’s “new rules”, equivalent to much less crowd management and hero rework. Each check modes will characteristic rebalancing particular to 6v6 – equivalent to a discount within the energy and survivability of tanks – however they will nonetheless have their very own card in Unranked alongside different modes. Keller says the objective of Season 14’s 6v6 format exams is to grasp if it “could make the core sport even stronger”, including that it will be “watching the reception and outcomes of those exams carefully.”

“On the planet the place a surge of Gamers be a part of this mode and constantly play it, then we now have the sign we have to do extra with it,” Keller continued. “I feel what that ‘extra’ is is dependent upon the extent of pleasure. Is there a world the place each 5v5 and 6v6 exist completely in Overwatch 2? When you had requested me just a few months in the past, I might have stated no. As we have mentioned Overwatch 2’s future… we all know our Gamers can need a couple of expertise, and it could be one thing we would want to think about transferring ahead.”

Notably, Blizzard is not stopping at experimenting with a possible 6v6 mode. It additionally plans to check variants of Overwatch 2’s present 5v5 mode as a part of Season 13, inspecting the “flexibility inside this format”. There is a Fast Play: Hacked variant referred to as Restrict 2 coming quickly, which caps every position per workforce at two, and there is a mid-season mode referred to as Kingmaker that’ll characteristic Restrict 2’s position cap whereas giving a bonus to the participant not sharing a job.

Blizzard says it will have extra info on all of the above “nearer to their launches”.