Abandoning the 6v6 format in favor of 5v5 when moving to Overwatch 2 can be considered one of Blizzard's most controversial decisions. Not everyone liked the reduced number of players in a round, and the developers know this. However, there is still hope for a return - the studio is preparing to test the previous format in a series of events.
Overwatch 2 game director Aaron Keller wrote about this on the official blog. According to him, the format with five fighters per team was chosen for a number of reasons. For example, during big games, it is easier to keep track of nine other players than eleven. Keller describes this as a "more cognitively driven situation." It was also important to increase individual player input and balance the impact of each class on the match. The most important task is to reduce the extremely long waiting times. There are fewer people in an Overwatch 2 round, so the matchmaking process is faster.
Despite their best efforts, Blizzard continues to receive requests to bring back twelve-person matches. According to Keller, the team remains open to suggestions and is always ready to reconsider decisions made. So Blizzard is preparing to host a series of events to try out different formats in 6v6 lineups. This step will allow developers to analyze the interest of the community and provide food for thought.
Tests will be carried out in the near future, but first, the developers need to take care of a couple of important points. The first is performance with an increased number of players per match, and the second is reduced wait times. "Is there a world where people are willing to put up with long queues to play a format like this? Maybe, but it’s risky for us to take such a step yet," Keller shared and clarified that his charges have several ideas for solving problems with waiting.
In addition to experimenting with the 6v6 format, Blizzard intends to work on the composition of squads so that gamers do not experience a feeling of monotony. Already in the thirteenth season, at least one quick game mode with a revised lineup of heroes should appear.
For now, only the twelfth season of Overwatch 2 is on the horizon. It starts on August 20 and will introduce a new heroine, Juno.
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With over 15 years of playing games and 5 years of writing articles, Yaroslav is a CEO and content creator at HermitGamer. Yaroslav regularly plays video games, creates useful guides, and writes reviews with his opinion on new and old titles. His main goal is to make HermitGamer a platform, where each gamer can find the answers.
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