Hello everybody! We have cherished listening to your enthusiasm for Stadium and most of all, we have cherished watching you all play it. There’s already been a lot creativity with builds. Not that we had been shocked by that—we knew you wouldn’t disappoint!
Earlier than I get into present modifications and future developments, I might like to provide a bit historical past of Stadium in hopes that it gives you some context as to the place it’s headed. Plus, I just like the title “Previous, Current, and Future”!
Previous
Stadium emerged as an thought earlier than Overwatch 2 launched. In reality, earlier than it was offered to the workforce, considered one of my children created the primary pitch doc with a pattern degree and offered it to me! Stadium has come a great distance since then, however I at all times consider my son when taking part in.
Early variations seemed a bit totally different from the mode you’re taking part in immediately. Stadium was initially centered on offering as a lot selection as potential. It was arrange as an eight-team event. Every spherical, gamers picked from random upgrades to make use of in fight phases of Group Deathmatch or versus AI, shedding well being in the event that they misplaced the spherical. Nevertheless it was troublesome to create a coherent technique or builds to counter opponents when the selections had been made by means of random choice.
This variation into the format you see immediately displays a shift in our considering: we nonetheless need there to be selection from match to match in Stadium, however selection is now not the best precedence. We wish you to really feel balanced and aggressive, whereas making epic builds by means of strategic decisions primarily based on the efficiency and Hero compositions of everybody within the match.
Current
Talking of protecting issues balanced and aggressive, the workforce is already planning tweaks primarily based on the suggestions and information we’ve acquired since launch.
Whereas we regularly see a giant spike in play time shortly after a shiny new occasion launches, play time in Stadium has been a bit stickier. In its first week, roughly 50% of all play hours in Overwatch 2 had been dedicated to Stadium!
In relation to builds and Hero stability, we’ll be gathering information over the following few weeks to see what modifications should be made for the midseason stability patch, if not earlier.
There are lots of gears turning behind the scenes on the subject of Stadium. The event workforce answered a few of your burning questions in a Reddit AMA earlier this week and we’ll be sharing extra insights and Stadium information in a particular Director’s Take subsequent week!
Future
When you like taking part in Stadium, you will be glad to know that we’ve got a number of massive plans for it. There can be seasonal updates to Stadium which can embody the discharge of recent Heroes, maps, sport modes, methods and options, in addition to the same old care we put into different modes of Overwatch.
What’s coming to Stadium over the following two seasons? Loads!
The workforce simply put out an in depth roadmap for Stadium that exhibits extra of our future plans for the mode.
Heroes: Our latest addition to the Overwatch roster may also be the primary new Hero added Freja is headed to Stadium and she or he’ll arrive with the Season 16 midseason patch. However she’s not the one Hero on the best way! We’ll have new Heroes added each Season, since we expect including new heroes is critically essential for Stadium. Every time we have launched a brand new addition internally, they’ve completely shifted the meta and the best way we thought of placing collectively a construct. Over Seasons 17 and 18, you’ll have seven new Heroes to play!
Sport Modes: We’re planning on releasing a brand new sport mode inside Stadium named Payload Race and two brand-new maps will launch with it. On prime of that, we’ll be integrating a brand new mechanic that we’ve been calling “Quests” internally. Initially of every match, gamers will choose from a random set of quests that can dole out rewards as soon as aims are accomplished.
Techniques: Whereas we’re actually excited for brand spanking new content material in Stadium, we expect methods that affect the best way you set a construct collectively can have an excellent better affect. In Season 17, we’ll be releasing a construct importer and exporter. This won’t solely enable gamers to place collectively builds exterior of a Stadium match after which choose them inside a match, it is going to additionally enable gamers to pick out from group builds as nicely.
You’ve additionally made your voices heard on a subject that’s crucial to all of us: Cross-Play! Since Stadium has a aggressive system, it follows the foundations of our core aggressive mode, which doesn’t enable PC and Console gamers to group. Since that is the one option to play the mode, we agree, and we’d love to do one thing about it. We’re presently investigating what it could take to make an unranked model of the mode. This may enable teams of buddies to play collectively and would give us the power to make different modifications as nicely, presumably introducing a best-of-5 format to the mode.
Earlier than signing off, I might wish to reiterate the workforce’s dedication to the opposite core modes of Overwatch. We’re nonetheless pouring as a lot time, power and fervour into these as we at all times have. Stadium is not competing for these sources: it’s giving us extra alternatives to ship Overwatch in a brand new, thrilling approach.
We will not wait so that you can see what’s coming there, particularly Season 18. It should be a banger! Have enjoyable with Stadium and, as at all times, let’s make an incredible sport.
