Among the numerous changes that Overwatch 2 will bring to the 2016 title includes a shift to 5v5 player-versus-player matches as opposed to 6v6. But, that’s not all. The 5v5 structure, which will be composed of one tank, two supports, and two DPS players for every team, will also be applied to the original game since both Overwatch 2 and Overwatch’s multiplayer will be compatible with each other.
What’s With the Lower Overwatch 2 Team Size?
Newly-minted Overwatch 2 director, Aaron Keller, explained on the live stream why Overwatch 2 will reduce the team size. According to Keller, Overwatch has changed over the years. He claims that the game has gone from having no hero limits to having limits. It’s worth remembering that Overwatch did not have a role lock at launch but this mechanic was only introduced later. Thus, Keller claims that reducing the team size is the next step towards how Overwatch will evolve. Keller also explained that another reason why there’ll be fewer players per team in Overwatch going forward is that it was difficult for a single player to keep track of what 11 other players were doing at any given moment. By reducing the team size, Keller believes that players will be able to “make better choices.” Another major change coming with Overwatch 2 is that each team will only have one tank going forward, which Keller also justified. Keller described Tanks in Overwatch as “problematic”. He says that Tanks can stack abilities that would “cause problems for other teams to try to overcome and counter”. Although one can argue that this can help speed up the gameplay, it is also possible that, with only one tank, teams might be hesitant to play aggressively. The latest Overwatch 2 live stream was also filled with a bunch of details about the player-versus-player mode for Overwatch 2. This includes the new Monte Carlo Map. Blizzard also revealed that it is working on more maps for the Push game mode. The studio is also reportedly experimenting with other new game modes for Overwatch 2 as well. Unfortunately, while the recent live stream did reveal a lot about Overwatch 2, Keller did not announce a release date. But, given Blizzard’s recent financial call, fans shouldn’t expect Overwatch 2 to release anytime soon.
