Overwatch 2’s 6v6 Playtest Has One Hand Tied Back in Season…

Season 16 of Overwatch 2 offers multiple ways to experience the game, including Stadium mode, Overwatch Classic, and the return of ranked 6v6 Open Queue. This is in addition to exciting updates like the new damage hero Freja, hero bans, and Overwatch 2's collaboration with Street Fighter 6, meaning there's no shortage of content to absorb. The Dokiwatch battle pass theme and Mercy's Mythic Magitech Weapon skin have also sparked the enthusiasm of fans.

Unfortunately, the focus on new content, particularly with game modes like Stadium, which is headlining Overwatch 2’s 16th season, means some other features may be overlooked. In particular, though Blizzard renewed the competitive 6v6 Open Queue playtest this season, it may not be getting the second chance it truly deserves. When the game mode debuted in Season 15, it garnered significant interest, though it wasn’t without a few shortcomings.

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By Eric Law

Overwatch 2’s 6v6 Playtest Deserves a Proper Shot at Survival

Overwatch 2's 6v6 Tests Show Promise, but Concerns Remain

Aside from being potentially overshadowed by the wealth of content in Season 16 and its mid-season update, one of the most prevalent issues with the return of 6v6 in Overwatch 2 is that it isn’t a core game mode. For instance, in higher elo, pro players aren’t engaging with the 6v6 as much because the meta differs from that of 5v5. This makes logical sense because these players benefit from practicing within the defined meta, but it also means that the higher players climb on the ranked ladder, the longer the queue times are. Consequently, fewer players are willing to search for a 6v6 match because the queue times are simply too long, even if they prefer 6v6 over 5v5.

This aside, the MMR (Matchmaking Rating) from Season 15 also appears to have been flawed, placing some players higher than they probably should have been, while some traditionally Top 500 Overwatch 2 players found themselves in metal ranks like Gold and Platinum. One possible explanation is that some players had never played Open Queue before, leaving the matchmaker uncertain about where to place them. Notably, this led to many widely unbalanced games where teams would steamroll their enemies or be steamrolled.

A potential fix for the MMR disparity in Season 15 could be to run another 6v6 test in Season 17, with players asked to do placement matches once more.

Another potential issue with the 6v6 playtest is that it is Open Queue, which appeals to players who prefer more freedom in team compositions but alienates those who favor Role Queue. Alas, ranked 6v6 may only succeed for the time being because it's Open Queue, as Role Queue would likely extend queue times to a more detrimental level. Furthermore, although competitive 6v6 Open Queue was the third most popular mode in Season 15 until the April Fools game mode dropped, Stadium has since occupied a significant portion of the community’s time. To illustrate, according to the Director’s Take from May, roughly 50% of all player hours during Stadium’s first week were dedicated to this mode.

6v6 Data Might Not Be Fully Relevant for Season 16

Possible solutions exist, like bringing back 6v6 Open Queue in Season 17, especially since it’s receiving less focus despite Stadium having a separate team, and perhaps even experimenting with Role Queue. Sadly, the current data collected on 6v6 might do more harm than good for fans of the mode. Contrarily, an unfortunate consequence of discontinuing 6v6 could be isolating the portion of the player base that is only interested in this mode, which may have even attracted new players from similar games like Marvel Rivals, considering the considerable overlap between the two hero shooters’ communities.

Moreover, the third time could be the charm for 6v6 as Blizzard continues fine-tuning the game with new features and mechanics like hero bans, balancing, new maps, and new heroes. With map voting coming to Overwatch 2 in Season 17, this is just one notable example of how 6v6, and the game as a whole, is evolving into a more complete experience since Overwatch added the "2" to its name in 2022. Hopefully, Team 4 will take a more neutral approach in analyzing the 6v6 data from this season and consider bringing back ranked 6v6 in the future.

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