Overwatch 2 PvP confirmed to be 5v5 instead of 6v6

Michael Gwilliam

Overwatch 2 is moving to 5v5. After months of speculation, developers revealed that Overwatch’s PVP will be completely revamped and completely changing the way the game is played.

From now on, teams will consist of two DPS, two supports, and only one tank. As such, a lot of heroes are being reworked to make this change make sense.

For instance, Winston can now charge up a blast of lightning from his gun, making him far more lethal. That said, it’s a good compromise for not having an off-tank partner anymore.

In the PVP developer stream on May 20, Overwatch Director Aaron Keller explained the decision behind switching up the game’s format.

According to Keller, Overwatch has changed over time in quite a few ways, going from no limits to hero limits and eventually role queue. Now, changing things up even more radically.

“This is the next step,” Keller said.

One of the big reasons for this change is how there is so much going on in Overwatch and being able to keep track of what’s happening can be a bit daunting.

As such, with one less player per team, especially a large tank, games will feel a lot easier to watch and play.

Another big aspect is how individual players can carry games. Both Keller and hero designer Geoff Goodman explained how now supports, tanks and DPS can dominate games more, which is something many players felt lacked in the 6v6 format.

Fortunately, the devs don’t feel that these changes will affect maps currently in the game, saying that the current catalog won’t need to be revamped.

Overwatch 2 still does not have a release date set, but we can’t wait to see what else the game has to offer when we can get our hands on it to try out 5v5 for ourselves.

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About The Author

Michael Gwilliam is a senior writer at Dexerto based in Ontario, Canada. He specializes in Overwatch, Smash, influencers, and Twitch culture. Gwilliam has written for sites across Canada including the Toronto Sun. You can contact him at michael.gwilliam@dexerto.com or on Twitter @TheGwilliam