Thus far, most of the pre-launch coverage of Overwatch 2 has focused on the game’s exclusive new PvE component, but today during a livesteam, Blizzard revealed some interesting new details about the changes Overwatch 2 is bringing to PvP. The most fundamental of these changes is a switch from 6v6 battles to 5v5, with the hero breakdown being two DPS, two Support, and only one Tank.
Needless to say, this is a pretty big shakeup for Tanks in particular, and Blizzard is making a number of changes to the class. For the most part, Tanks are being powered up and being given tools that will allow them to be more aggressive. For instance, Zarya can now wield double bubbles and Winston has more long-range attack options. Overall, it seems like Blizzard’s goal is to make PvP a little faster and more fluid, with less focus on setting up Tank-manned choke points. You can check out footage of a few 5v5 matches in the full Overwatch 2 PVP livesteam below (it’s two hours long, so grab yourself a drink first).
In addition to the big 5v5 news, Blizzard also provided a fresh look at a number of Overwatch 2 maps, including the New York and Rio de Janeiro Hybrid maps and the Toronto and Rome maps for the new Push mode. These maps have all been shown (to various degrees) before, but Blizzard’s stream provided the latest look at how they’re developing. Most crucially, we also got a first look at the never-before-seen glitzy Monte Carlo map. You can check out new flybys of each of the maps below (thanks to Warped Overwatch for grabbing them from Twitter) and full matches played on all of them via the full presentation above.
Finally, Blizzard also talked a bit about how they’re redesigning and upgrading their characters. Check out a few characters, including an all-new look at Torbjorn.
For those who haven’t been keeping up with Overwatch 2, the game’s new PvE missions will be exclusive to the new game, but all its PvP content will also be available to players of the original Overwatch. Longtime Overwatch director Jeff Kaplan recently left Blizzard, but the studio insists the game is still proceeding forward “at a good pace.”
Overwatch 2 is currently without a release date and platforms have not been announced.
About the author: Professional writer of trivial things. Nathan has been covering games, entertainment, and online culture for over a decade with bylines at IGN, GameSpy, Cracked, Uproxx, ComicBook, and more. Joined Wccftech gaming team in 2017, and has written hundreds of game reviews and thousands of news stories since.
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