Blizzard Entertainment's PvP multiplayer hero shooter Overwatch 2 has remained, at its core, a 5v5 experience ever since the studio made the controversial transition from the original game to the sequel in 2022. However, starting last summer, the developer has been experimenting with modes that return the game to its original 6v6 format — and it's now been confirmed that its most popular iteration is sticking around (at least for now).
That mode is 6v6 Open Queue, which pits two teams of six players against each other and allows them to pick any mix of Tank, Damage, and Support characters, albeit with a limit of two Tanks per team for balancing reasons. Specifically, Blizzard says Competitive 6v6 Open Queue has been the third most popular Overwatch 2 mode since testing for it began in Season 15, so it's keeping it available for the duration of the new Season 16 that's scheduled to begin on April 22 and end come June 24. Additionally, the Quick Play variant of the playlist will also be accessible.
"Competitive 6v6 Open Queue was the third most popular mode in Overwatch 2 during Season 15 according to time played ... On average, there’s a 3:1 ratio of players choosing Competitive 5v5 over Competitive 6v6, respectively, but the 6v6 population has remained steady," wrote Overwatch 2 associate game director Alec Dawson in a new Director's Take blog post. "Queue times across the game have remained healthy and data from Season 16 should give us a better sense of how 5v5 Role Queue and 6v6 Open Queue can coexist in the long term."
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Notably, there's been no hard confirmation that 6v6 Open Queue will remain an available Overwatch 2 mode indefinitely. With that said, Dawson's comments suggest that Blizzard is hoping to give it a permanent place in the game's list of playlists, so there's plenty of reason to be hopeful if you're a 6v6 enthusiast. Unless there's a significant 6v6 player drop-off in the coming months, I strongly doubt we'll see it go away.
Season 16 of Overwatch 2 is also bringing the new Damage hero Freja, a Nordic woman that wields a high-tech explosive crossbow, is capable of strong repositioning mobility, and can shoot a bola to constrict her foes as she picks them off with sharpshooting. There's also the Stadium mode coming — a wild new RPGified Overwatch experience with upgradable skills and abilities, a best-of-seven-rounds format, and a third-person view — as well as Hero Bans for competitive play.
While I personally still prefer Overwatch 2's 5v5 offerings, I'm glad to see that Blizzard is continuing to offer 6v6 fans a pair of well thought-out and polished playlists to enjoy. Many folks still miss the format of the original Overwatch, after all, and offering both 5v5 and 6v6 means that most players should be happy somewhere on the servers.
Overwatch 2 overall is enjoying a solid resurgence lately, with the hero shooter going neck-and-neck with its fierce Marvel Rivals competition as of data from late last month. Though it hasn't surpassed the player count of NetEase Games' title since the newer game's release, it's certainly held its own.
If you've never checked out Overwatch 2, you can do so with no barrier to entry whatsoever thanks to the fact it's free-to-play. Something worth noting, though, is that it got Xbox Game Pass perks last year; Xbox and PC Game Pass subscribers get access to six exclusive hero skins, a permanent 10% XP Boost for Battle Pass progress, and the ability to access Battle Passes from the three most recent seasons (before the current one) after they're gone for everyone else.
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