Blizzard Entertainment will be bringing 6v6 matches back to ‘Overwatch 2’ for two new modes.

Blizzard Entertainment will be bringing 6v6 matches back to ‘Overwatch 2’ for two new modes

Blizzard Entertainment will be bringing 6v6 matches back to ‘Overwatch 2’ for two new modes

In July, the studio discussed bringing the feature to the 2022 hero shooter after it had reduced matches down to 5v5 when compared to its predecessor, and now the game’s director Aaron Keller has revealed they are trialling 6v6 matches in two separate modes for the next season of ‘Overwatch 2’ a week after it arrives on 31 December.

In a blog post, Keller wrote: “The first, launching a week into the season, will look a little different than the standard 2-2-2 role-queued from ‘Overwatch’.

“Part of this series of tests is to not only judge our player’s appetite for larger team sizes, but for us to explore different ways that we might implement a change without running into the same problems we had previously. With that in mind, our first test will be a variation of Open Queue, which we’re internally referring to as ‘Min 1, Max 3’: each team of six must have at least one of each role, and no more than three.

“There are a few different combinations here that you will be able to try, but this opens up many different team compositions that we haven’t seen before in Overwatch 2. You will be able to switch roles on the fly during a match as long as that switch doesn’t break the 'Min 1, Max 3' limit.”

As for the second test - which will take place half way through Season 14 - the director said it would “incorporate some new principles [Blizzard] introduced with ‘Overwatch 2’” such as “hero reworks”.

He explained: “The 6v6 tests will have their own card in Unranked alongside other modes, and they will not take the place of other types of game modes like seasonal events or Quick Play: Hacked.

“We’ll also be implementing a series of balance changes that will apply to these two test modes only. The power and survivability of tanks will go down in these 6v6 formats, and we’ll be taking a look at whether we need many of the passives that we’ve added in ‘Overwatch 2’.”