After nearly two years of the community voicing frustrations, Blizzard has announced that Overwatch 2 6v6 will be coming back. This return comes in the form of new tests to decide if the game will permanently go back to 6v6 or stick with 5v5.
“The community has, juuuust once or twice, suggested a test,” game director Aaron Keller said in a post on the Overwatch website. “Why not put various forms of 6v6 in the game in order to gauge the results? We agree, and based on your feedback, we’re exploring how we can test different forms of 6v6 in the game to gauge the results.”
Why Hasn’t Overwatch 2 Returned To 6v6 Gameplay?
As far as why they will run tests of the mode instead of a full scale return, Keller says there are a few reasons for the decision. The first, he says, is to make sure the game can be optimized for 12-player matches.
“There have been quite a few upgrades and additions to Overwatch 2 that have an impact on the performance of the game,” he said. “These range from new features like allied outlines and enabling healer vision by default, the addition of more technically demanding hero kits, as well as visual upgrades to UI, heroes and maps.”
He added that in 6v6 play, the updates can cause performance issues on older systems.
The second big reason, which he says gives him “anxiety about opening this Pandora’s Box”, involves match queue times if 6v6 becomes a permanent addition to the game.
“The team was not able to solve this issue previously,” he said. “While we have some ideas now, there’s no guarantee that they will work. Is there a world where people are willing to live with long queue times to play this format? Maybe, but that’s a pretty risky move to make.”
He closed by saying that the Overwatch team’s goal is to continue to build a game “that you want to play season after season”, even if that means the return of 6v6.
What do you think of Overwatch 2 bringing back 6v6, at least with test matches for now? For more Insider Gaming, read the gameplay deep dive for EA Sports FC 25.
