Overwatch 2 may feature 6v6 again as Blizzard tries to bring back the “chaotic, over-the-top” variety of the first game

Overwatch 2 director Aaron Keller has published a lengthy blog post on Steam about the transition from 6v6 player matches in the first Overwatch to 5v5 in the poorly received free-to-play sequel. It's a juicy read for armchair designers and veteran Overwatchers like me, breaking down the shift from class roles and free choice of heroes to single-hero selection and mandatory team compositions.

Keller outlines how the Overwatch experience “moves away from player freedom and creativity in order to create a more balanced, consistent, and competitive experience for players.” However, it's possible that Overwatch 2 could go back in the other direction, as Blizzard is now “exploring how we can test different 6v6 formats in the game to measure outcomes” and aiming to bring back some of the joyful chaos that used to see entire teams of Reinhardts charging into an objective in formation.


“The community suggested a test, just once or twice,” Keller writes in the post. “Why not put various 6v6 formats into the game to measure the results? We agree, and based on your feedback, we're looking into how we can test different 6v6 formats in the game to measure the results.”

But don't expect those tests to start anytime soon, as there are a number of hurdles. “The first and honestly biggest reason is the need to do this in a way that allows the game to have optimized technical performance for a 12-player match (I'm talking about frame rate and memory constraints),” Keller continues.

He notes that Overwatch 2 has seen several performance-impacting upgrades and additions, such as HUD outlines for allied heroes and flashier map fixtures. “In a 6v6 environment, these upgrades can have significant impacts for our players and can cause the game to underperform on older systems. Overwatch is a fast-paced game, and maintaining a smooth running game across all of our platforms is important to the player experience.”

So, “while a limited-time test could come sooner, the team is still investigating how long it would take to permanently increase performance across the game,” Keller writes. “This would be a major effort that would likely take at least a few seasons to accomplish.”

But the bigger issue may be the impact the return to 6v6 has had on the game's multiplayer queue times. A significant portion of Keller's blog is dedicated to explaining how the combination of role queues and the original 12-player format caused delays in finding matches. Keller says Blizzard didn't really address this issue in the first game, so they reduced the number of players in Overwatch 2. He's not 100% sure they'll fare better the second time around.

“Another issue, and one that still worries me about opening this Pandora's Box, is what we do with queue times if enough players choose to stick with 6v6 and keep it that way,” the post continues. “The team hasn't been able to solve this problem before. While we have some ideas now, there's no guarantee they'll work.

“Is there a world where people are willing to wait in long lines to play this format? Maybe, but that's a risky move. We also have tens of millions of new players who have only played 5v5. We obviously want to be careful not to disappoint those who love the game as it is today.”

If Blizzard does host some 6v6 tests, they'll likely last a few weeks, with results compared to regular Overwatch 2 modes. “We'll be carefully reviewing the lessons learned from each test we run and looking at how we can best deliver what players want,” Keller says. “Whether that's a 5v5, 6v6, or both world, we'll figure it out in the future.”

Keller is outspoken about the fact that Overwatch’s evolution into Overwatch 2 was a trade-off that alienated many of the original game’s audience. “The game started life with six players per team,” he writes. “I’ve debated why we moved away from 6v6, but that doesn’t mean it had any value. There were moments and craziness that could happen with twelve players in a match, but it just didn’t come together when there were ten.”

Keller adds that the occasional feeling of overwhelm is “part of the charm.” “There are big moments in Overwatch 2, but they don't have the same chaotic, over-the-top feel.” More specifically, having two tanks in the mix on each side had a “balancing effect on the gameplay,” so that “teams collapse a little bit slower than they do now.”

The sequel is a more focused competitive experience, and perhaps a superior esports experience, but it doesn't have the same sense of abandon, Keller admits. “When you look at the changes that have been made since Overwatch's inception, it's clear that many of them have reduced some of the variety in an Overwatch match,” the post acknowledges. “We've been hearing feedback from some players that Overwatch can feel 'the same' from game to game.”

“While a lot of this can be attributed to 5v5, we think there's more at play here. In addition to experimenting with 6v6, we want to run some experiments that reexamine the ways we've tried to solve previous problems, specifically with the goal of bringing some of the freedom back to an Overwatch match without the severity of the problems that come with it.”

The ongoing dislike for Overwatch 2 (it still has a Mostly Negative user review consensus on Steam) is about more than just 5v5, of course. Take your pick: the fact that the first game is no longer available, making the sequel a necessary replacement; the retirement of certain grand plans for story modes; the baiting of players with the battle pass. Still, there’s a great hero sandbox out there, and the prospect of a tentative return to the looser, wildcard spirit of the first game is encouraging.

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