Blizzard Entertainment’s new Overwatch 2 Spotlight livestream had no shortage of major announcements for the studio’s long-running PvP hero shooter, with everything from selectable hero Perks and a new 6v6 Competitive mode coming next week with Season 15’s February 18 launch to the new crossbow-wielding hero Freja and a new Hero Bans feature for ranked play slated to drop later this year in Season 16. By far, though, the most interesting reveal to me was Stadium — a brand new game mode getting added in April with the rest of Season 16.
The developers describe Stadium as “the biggest game mode we’ve ever made,” and after seeing and reading what it’ll entail, I’m not inclined to disagree. Compared to previously added modes that simply introduced new objective types, Stadium is going to be a wacky off-the-wall experience with “Powers” you can buy with a currency earned as you play through a match. These upgrades will be “transformative Powers that players can create unique builds around, setting up more strategic encounters that enhance the hero fantasy,” and sound a lot like the power-ups we were expected to get in Overwatch 2’s now-cancelled PvE campaign.
To give you an idea of what you can expect from these Powers, Blizzard has provided a few examples. In Stadium, Reinhardt can shoot Firestrikes that spread lava, Soldier: 76 can give allies attack speed buffs with his Biotic Field, Kiriko can throw three kunais at once and freely teleport around, and Mercy can shield teammates as she resurrects them. With D.Va, you’ll even be able to leave behind trails of lava whenever you fly around, and work-in-progress images of the mode’s upgrade screens (view them below) also show a wild perk that’ll give her Ana’s Nano Boost for eight seconds whenever she’s knocked out of her mech.
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As these previews of the upgrade menu show, though, that stuff is only the tip of what appears to be a very deep iceberg. There are four different types of upgrades you can get — Weapon, Ability, Survival, and Trait — and on top of that, there will be Items and Hero Items, too (presumably consumables). Notably, Blizzard says you’ll be able to “seamlessly review, buy, and sell your mods” as you play, “as well as see the builds on the opposing team to maximize your strategy round to round.”
Speaking of rounds, Stadium will have a best-of-seven-rounds format, making me think that individual games of the mode will be considerably longer than regular matches. It’ll also have its very own Competitive variant “featuring multiple divisions, ranks, and unique rewards,” and at launch, 14 of Overwatch 2’s heroes will be playable in it. Over time, Blizzard plans to add more, along with fresh maps and additional game types.
Another thing about Stadium that’s quite unique is that by default, it will be played in third-person, though players will have the option to swap back to Overwatch 2’s usual first-person perspective if they want to. With third-person, “you will be able to see more of the battlefield and the direct impact your upgraded abilities (and those of your teammates and enemies) have in action.”
I have to admit that all these zany upgrades and unlocks sound pretty darn cool, and on the whole, Stadium sounds like Blizzard took the Perks idea from the upcoming Season 15 and decided to run absolutely wild with it. At the same time, though, I worry that trying to put together a good build for yourself while also keeping track of what your teammates and enemies are using might be incredibly overwhelming.
Indeed, trying to wrap my head around how Stadium might play is making my head spin, but that’s not going to stop me from checking it out once it’s released in Season 16. And if Blizzard is able to deliver this “entirely new way to experience Overwatch” without it feeling overly complex, I’ve got a feeling it’ll give Overwatch 2 a big popularity boost.
For fans of competitive games and hero shooters, Overwatch 2 is one of the best Xbox games and best PC games out there to play. It’s completely free-to-play, too, though I should note that you get free skins, 30 Mythic Prisms to spend on unlocks, and a constant 10% XP Boost if you’re subscribed to Xbox Game Pass.
