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 stunned by that—we knew you wouldn’t disappoint!
Earlier than I get into present adjustments and future developments, I would like to offer just a little historical past of Stadium in hopes that it will provide you with some context as to the place it’s headed. Plus, I just like the title “Previous, Current, and Future”!
Previous
Stadium emerged as an concept earlier than Overwatch 2 launched. In actual fact, earlier than it was introduced to the workforce, considered one of my youngsters created the primary pitch doc with a pattern stage and introduced it to me! Stadium has come a great distance since then, however I at all times consider my son when enjoying.
Early variations regarded just a little totally different from the mode you’re enjoying immediately. Stadium was initially targeted on offering as a lot selection as potential. It was arrange as an eight-team match. Every spherical, gamers picked from random upgrades to make use of in fight phases of Workforce Deathmatch or versus AI, shedding well being in the event that they misplaced the spherical. However it was tough to create a coherent technique or builds to counter opponents when the selections had been made by way of random choice.
This modification into the format you see immediately displays a shift in our pondering: we nonetheless need there to be selection from match to match in Stadium, however selection is now not the very best precedence. We wish you to really feel balanced and aggressive, whereas making epic builds by way of strategic selections primarily based on the efficiency and Hero compositions of everybody within the match.
Current
Talking of conserving issues balanced and aggressive, the workforce is already planning tweaks primarily based on the suggestions and knowledge we’ve acquired since launch.
Whereas we regularly see an enormous 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!
With regards to builds and Hero stability, we’ll be gathering knowledge over the subsequent few weeks to see what adjustments must be made for the midseason stability patch, if not earlier.
There are lots of gears turning behind the scenes relating to 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 knowledge in a particular Director’s Take subsequent week!
Future
If you happen to like enjoying Stadium, you will be completely happy to know that we now have a whole lot of large plans for it. There shall be seasonal updates to Stadium which can embody the discharge of recent Heroes, maps, sport modes, techniques and options, in addition to the same old care we put into different modes of Overwatch.
What’s coming to Stadium over the subsequent two seasons? So much!
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 even be the primary new Hero added Freja is headed to Stadium and he or she’ll arrive with the Season 16 midseason patch. However she’s not the one Hero on the way in which! We’ll have new Heroes added each Season, since we predict 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 way in which we thought of placing collectively a construct.
Recreation 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 high of that, we’ll be integrating a brand new mechanic that we’ve been calling “Quests” internally. At first of every match, gamers will choose from a random set of quests that may dole out rewards as soon as targets are accomplished.
Methods: Whereas we’re actually excited for brand new content material in Stadium, we predict techniques that affect the way in which you set a construct collectively can have a good larger affect. In Season 17, we’ll be releasing a construct importer and exporter. This is not going to solely permit gamers to place collectively builds outdoors of a Stadium match after which choose them inside a match, it should additionally permit gamers to pick out from group builds as effectively.
You’ve additionally made your voices heard on a subject that’s essential to all of us: Cross-Play! Since Stadium has a aggressive system, it follows the principles of our core aggressive mode, which doesn’t permit PC and Console gamers to group. Since that is the one method to play the mode, we agree, and we’d love to do one thing about it. We’re presently investigating what it will take to make an unranked model of the mode. This may permit teams of pals to play collectively and would give us the power to make different adjustments as effectively, probably introducing a best-of-5 format to the mode.
Earlier than signing off, I would prefer to reiterate the workforce’s dedication to the opposite core modes of Overwatch. We’re nonetheless pouring as a lot time, vitality and fervour into these as we at all times have. Stadium is not competing for these assets: it’s giving us extra alternatives to ship Overwatch in a brand new, thrilling manner.
We won’t wait so that you can see what’s coming there, particularly Season 18. It may be a banger! Have enjoyable with Stadium and, as at all times, let’s make an incredible sport.
