For the first time in years, Overwatch 2 may be considering bringing back the original 6v6 format that the original version of the game had. Game director Aaron Keller posted the below tweet a few hours after posting a blog talking about everyone’s current feelings on Tanks not feeling impactful enough. He says that the team will “share our [point of view]” on the subject, which doesn’t mean it’s coming back as the main mode but may signify movement towards some tests coming on the way.
Why did Overwatch go to 5v5?
Since Overwatch 2 lost 6v6 and went solely to a 5v5 experience in 2022, the move has been criticized by some in the community. At the time, this move was needed because of the stagnant metas in the game between 2018 and 2022. With 6v6, a large majority of games featured teams with two Tanks who had shields, which many refer to as some of the most boring times to play Overwatch because of all the protection teams had. To take care of that, one Tank was dropped from each team, and various balance changes were made to alter how the role is played.
Of course, there are always going to be people who think the original way to play is always the best, so there has been discussion among the community for years about whether Overwatch 2 should go back to 6v6. While Keller doesn’t promise anything, we could see a short test coming in the future via the Hacked Quick Play tests that sometimes pop up. If people take well to that mode, the team could consider bringing it back full-time.
If Overwatch 2 were to go back to 6v6, a lot of changes would have to be made again. The last thing we want is to see double shields infest the game again, so maybe the Tank role would be split up into two groups: one for shields and another for brawlers. This would add a fourth role to queue for, so who knows how that would be received, but it’s at least an idea for consideration. Regardless, it will be interesting to see what the Overwatch 2 team’s current thoughts are on 6v6.
