Hello everybody! We have liked listening to your enthusiasm for Stadium and most of all, we have liked watching you all play it. There’s already been a lot creativity with builds. Not that we have 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 a bit historical past of Stadium in hopes that it offers 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 truth, earlier than it was offered to the group, one of my youngsters created the primary pitch doc with a pattern stage and offered it to me! Stadium has come a good distance since then, however I all the time suppose of my son when taking part in.
Early variations appeared a bit totally different from the mode you’re taking part in right now. Stadium was initially centered on offering as a lot selection as doable. It was arrange as an eight-group event. Every spherical, gamers picked from random upgrades to make use of in fight phases of Group Deathmatch or versus AI, dropping well being in the event that they misplaced the spherical. But it surely was troublesome to create a coherent technique or builds to counter opponents when the choices have been made by means of random choice.
This transformation into the format you see right now displays a shift in our pondering: we nonetheless need there to be selection from match to match in Stadium, however selection is not the best precedence. We would like 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 preserving issues balanced and aggressive, the group is already planning tweaks primarily based on the suggestions and information we’ve obtained since launch.
Whereas we frequently 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 have been dedicated to Stadium!
In the case of builds and Hero steadiness, we’ll be amassing information over the following few weeks to see what adjustments should be made for the midseason steadiness patch, if not earlier.
There are numerous gears turning behind the scenes relating to Stadium. The event group answered some 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
For those who like taking part in Stadium, you will be completely happy to know that we now have so much of huge plans for it. There can be seasonal updates to Stadium which is able to embody the discharge of new Heroes, maps, recreation modes, techniques and options, in addition to the standard care we put into different modes of Overwatch.
What’s coming to Stadium over the following two seasons? Loads!
The group simply put out an intensive roadmap for Stadium that reveals 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’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 predict including new heroes is critically necessary for Stadium. Every time we have launched a brand new addition internally, they’ve completely shifted the meta and the best way we considered 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 recreation mode inside Stadium named Payload Race and two model-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. Firstly of every match, gamers will choose from a random set of quests that may dole out rewards as soon as goals are accomplished.
Programs: Whereas we’re actually excited for brand new content material in Stadium, we predict techniques that affect the best way you set a construct collectively can have an excellent higher impression. In Season 17, we’ll be releasing a construct importer and exporter. This won’t solely enable gamers to place collectively builds outdoors of a Stadium match and then choose them inside a match, it is going to additionally enable gamers to pick out from neighborhood builds as properly.
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 enable PC and Console gamers to group. Since that is the one technique to play the mode, we agree, and we’d love to do one thing about it. We’re at the moment investigating what it could take to make an unranked model of the mode. This might enable teams of associates to play collectively and would give us the flexibility to make different adjustments as properly, presumably introducing a greatest-of-5 format to the mode.
Earlier than signing off, I would prefer to reiterate the group’s dedication to the opposite core modes of Overwatch. We’re nonetheless pouring as a lot time, power and ardour into these as we all the time have. Stadium is not competing for these assets: it’s giving us extra alternatives to ship Overwatch in a brand new, thrilling means.
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 all the time, let’s make a fantastic recreation.