Blizzard has announced the return of 6v6 team matchups in Overwatch 2, alongside a series of tests slated for Season 14. In addition, the company said it will conduct similar tests with the current 5v5 format.
Overwatch 2 6v6 Team Comp Is Back, But With a Twist
5v5 Format Still Part of Game
Blizzard has announced that it's bringing back 6v6 team matches to Overwatch 2 as the hero shooter launches Season 14 in December. The 6v6 matchup is part of a series of tests that would be about making "the core game even stronger," according to Blizzard in its recent announcement. 5v5 tests are also slated to take place during the current Season 13, as the format has been confirmed to remain intact in the game.
"These format tests are all about understanding if we can make the core game even stronger. Every day, millions of players jump into the core 5v5 format and the last thing we want is to negatively impact that experience," Blizzard explained. "The exciting thing about these tests is the potential to introduce something that could appeal to another group of players, ones that might have felt uncertain about the move to 5v5 when Overwatch 2 launched."
Blizzard is hosting two 5v5 tests, one of which introduces a rule called the "Limit 2" wherein the maximum number of heroes in each role (tank, damage, support) are limited to two. This includes Tank heroes, but they will be "tuned to Open Queue balance," meaning Tanks will have less health. You can freely switch heroes and roles as long as the new role doesn’t already have two players.
For the Season 13 midcycle, a new special game mode currently codenamed "Kingmaker" will be introduced. In Kingmaker, the maximum number of each role is limited to two, just as with "Limit 2," but the lone player assigned to one role gets a bonus.
"We will talk more about how the mode works in more detail closer to its launch, but like 'Limit 2,' we’re exploring more freedom in 5v5 while enabling more types of compositions to succeed," Blizzard said. "Quick Play: Hacked, “Limit 2”, and “Kingmaker” will provide an excellent benchmark and framework for us going into the 6v6 tests. We’re looking forward to seeing what statistics we can gather as you dive into these modes, alongside your feedback, which is one of our strongest data points!"
OW2 Runs Two 6v6 Tests During Season 14, Introduces “Min 1, Max 3” Rule
Just as with 5v5 tests, two different 6v6 tests are taking place in Season 14, starting during the first cycle of the new season in December. The first test period is a variation of Overwatch’s Open Queue format, which is being called as "Min 1, Max 3." As opposed to the 2-2-2 role-queued from Overwatch, the "Min 1, Max 3" format requires each team of 6 to have at least 1 of each hero role (tank, damage, support), and no more than 3. Additionally, players are allowed to switch roles on the fly during a match as long as the switch follows the Min 1, Max 3 rule.
"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," Blizzard said. Meanwhile, the second 6v6 test is slated to take place in the middle of Season 14 and will adopt the 2-2-2 role-queue format that allows each team of 6 to have two of each hero role.
"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," Blizzard added. "We’ll also be implementing a series of balance changes that will apply to these two test modes only." Among the changes taking place, the power and survivability of Tank heroes are expected to "go down" in these 6v6 formats, with Blizzard saying that they’ll be taking a look at whether additional changes should be made to Passive Abilities.
"Is there a world where both 5v5 and 6v6 exist permanently in Overwatch 2? If you had asked me a few months ago, I would have said no," game director Keller said in the recent announcement. "As we’ve discussed Overwatch 2’s future in light of making the game that our players want to play, we know our players can want more than one experience, and it would be something we’d need to consider moving forward."
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Director's Take - Continuing the 6v6 discussion
