Season 16 of Overwatch 2 is debuting a wealth of exciting features. Alongside releasing a new damage hero, Freja, a new competitive experience called Stadium is coming in Season 16. With the option to switch between first-person and third-person perspectives, MOBA-like elements, and familiar hero shooter mechanics, Overwatch 2's Stadium mode marks a historic first for the franchise.
February's Overwatch Spotlight Event offered an early glimpse of the new game mode, showcasing its best-of-seven format, hero builds, and unique abilities, but recent looks have been more focused on development and gameplay. The Best War Games participated in a roundtable interview with Overwatch 2 game director Aaron Keller, senior game designer Dylan Snyder, and lead level designer Ryan Smith. This interview has been edited for brevity and clarity.
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Overwatch 2's Stadium Mode Is Already Looking Toward the Future
Q: Do you have an idea which heroes the community can expect to see in Stadium next? To coincide, how many new heroes can we expect to see per season, and how long might this process be?
Keller: We are looking to add multiple heroes per season! Freja, I think I'd like to see sooner rather than later. However, it does take some time to port heroes into Stadium.
Snyder: It took longer in the beginning to add heroes than it does now. Our group has really found its groove. In the Overwatch Spotlight video, I mentioned that we would launch with 14 heroes, and we're actually launching with 17, which is a testament to the team's dedication. Part of that is the hero design team being super helpful to us, which means we can talk to the designers who own the heroes and brought them to ship. In this process, we learn about the core of the hero and some ways we can branch off from that.
It's tough to put an exact number of days on it, but we've gotten to the point where hero translation to Stadium can take weeks instead of months. That's huge for us, especially since we'd love to bring the entire roster to Stadium at some point. It will be crucial to keep up that pace, and we've learned a lot.
Stadium's First-Person and Third-Person Perspectives Have Their Own Strategic Advantages
Q: Can you walk us through the development process of designing Stadium with third-person in mind? And where might players find how to change the camera perspective if they so desire?
Keller: Stadium is the first time we've shipped the third-person with Overwatch. We put a lot of work into making it feel as good as possible in our experience. We've done tons of work on hero animations, camera positions, and secret tech that we've put into it to make it feel like you're aiming correctly.
And yes, players can switch between first and third-person views, which can be done through the Options menu. The reason we do it that way is that we don't want to necessarily allow people to do it on the fly so that they can instantly go back and forth. There's something exciting about some of the playstyles that could develop there, but we've decided to make the first version of the third-person camera a little more conservative for now. We're looking forward to a ton of feedback from our players, and I have a feeling that we'll put a lot of work into it based on that.
Smith: On the map side, we've ensured that they are all 100% mirrored. Some of the layout frustrations that typically come with third-person are kept at bay due to that. When we were creating the mode, we had to tweak some elements, such as door sizes and hallway sizes, as well as other minor details, to help third-person players feel more comfortable navigating spaces.
Q: Do you notice, based on data from the playtests, if people tend to stick to the default third-person camera, or are players sticking with the first-person perspective because it's familiar to them?
Snyder: Surprisingly, we've seen a lot of both. When we first started experimenting with third-person, many people said, "I'm first-person all the way; I'm not even going to try third-person." And now, plenty of them will use third-person for certain heroes. Alternatively, some realize they prefer playing Ana or Ashe exclusively in first-person, just because of their aim preferences, and that tells us we really want to offer a per-hero option to set as a hero setting.
I, for instance, will always default to Lucio in third-person because I can't imagine not playing him in that perspective anymore. The benefits you get from environmental information and knowing where your opponents are in third-person sometimes get offset by the aim superiority you can get on some characters in first-person. It's almost its own strategic decision, depending on what would better suit your needs.
Stadium's Intricate Hero and Map Design
Q: Of the new maps, is there any in particular that you're really excited for players to see? And what features about it do you find the most compelling?
Smith: It’s a tough question to answer when it’s not very often that you get to release a bunch of new maps all at the same time, and then to pick one that’s your favorite. They all shine in different ways. One of the many Push maps we’re doing is the Paris one, which is themed as Paris, but its layout is different from the existing Paris map. The center point where the Push Bot initially spawns is a really cool combat space. Our level designer, Thomas, made that map, and he did such a cool job. The center point has a really strong layout.
It’s also hard not to love Arena Victoriae. I’m a little biased because I worked on a large portion of that one, but it’s also interesting because when we make it, it’s just ugly blocks, and we just worry about how it plays. The reason it’s my favorite is because of what the art team was able to transform it into.
Snyder: For myself, it’s Gogadoro, which is a Control map based in Busan. It sits on an elevated train line above an underpass with Jump Pads that lead directly onto it. To me, that point emphasizes the chaos of Stadium more than any other example because you’ll have things like flying Reinhardt’s charging on in through the opening, going down to the Jump Pad, and shattering the enemy team when he comes back down. These are things that wouldn’t be possible anywhere else. There’s a beauty in looking at past maps that we’ve brought in and reassessing the strategic options they present. There’s also a beauty in the maps that were designed entirely with Stadium in mind, which lets us explore more options.
I also enjoy the opportunity of letting players discover new areas, fresh corners, and secret pockets or paths. Since there are so many high-mobility heroes in Stadium, you might think, “What’s the perfect Lucio roll-out to get out of Spawn?” Twitch streamer Frogger will probably figure that out instantaneously, and until he does, we have some mystery there.
Q: Do you have any closing thoughts you'd like to share with the community?
Keller: I really love talking and revealing details about Stadium in Overwatch because it's something the whole team is excited about. We've poured a lot of time, energy, and passion into it. We'll continue with that as we release new heroes, maps, modes, and systems. In the future, we will also do frequent balance patches to the mode. If you've been wondering when you could come back and try the game out, Stadium is the moment to do that!
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Overwatch® is an always-on and ever-evolving free-to-play, team-based hero shooter game set in an optimistic future, where every match is the ultimate 5v5 or 6v6 battlefield brawl featuring new heroes and maps, different ways to play, and unique cosmetics! Lead the charge, ambush your enemies, or aid your allies as one of Overwatch’s 40+ distinct heroes. Team up with friends, take them into battle across 25+ futuristic maps inspired by real-world locations, and master multiple unique game modes.
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