Overwatch 2 is still not 100% sold on the future of a return to 6v6, despite an overall positive reaction from the community for the ongoing playtest.
The Overwatch 2 community is enjoying an experimental 6v6 Role Queue mode, allowing players to experience playing with two tanks instead of one. Reactions to this playtest are mostly positive, especially from tank players, a controversial role that has struggled to garner players for years.
A second 6v6 playtest is also on the way, allowing players to pick a maximum of up to three characters per role with a minimum of one per role. This will resemble Overwatch’s launch state more closely and improve queue times while still allowing for some proper team comps.
However, despite player praise and some hopeful sentiment throughout the community, it appears that the devs still aren’t 100% sold on bringing back 6v6.
Overwatch 2 devs are still on the fence about 6v6
Overwatch 2 director Aaron Keller released a blog post about the ongoing playtest, acknowledging the popularity of the playtest but also revealing that 6v6 may not return in permanent form.
“If we were ever to make 6v6 a permanent part of the game, this version would eliminate the queue time issues that we had in the past,” Keller stated, implying that 6v6 is still not set in stone.
A transition to 6v6 isn’t simple and would require a massive top-down rework for different characters and maps. Many Overwatch 2 characters were designed with the 5v5 format in mind, such as Lifeweaver who will inevitably struggle with healing multiple tanks, or the frequently reworked Sombra whose abilities changed due to the gameplay alterations from 5v5.
Additionally, queue times are still a clear concern for the devs, as the “min 1 max 3” format was envisioned to “eliminate the queue time issues that [Overwatch] had in the past.” Queue times were already cited as a large reason why the team switched to the 5v5 format, and it’s unlikely tank queues will improve with 6v6 as they were already struggling to begin with in the original game.
Still, the Overwatch 2 community is largely in favor of a 6v6 shakeup. Players are encouraged to participate in the 6v6 playtest and submit their feedback on social media if they want to move away from 5v5.
