Seagull explains why Overwatch 2’s 5v5 change is good for its future

Retired professional Overwatch player Brandon ‘Seagull’ Larned explained why Overwatch 2’s controversial change from 6v6 to 5v5 in PvP modes might actually be good for the game’s future.

After months of speculation that Overwatch 2 was changing from 6v6 to 5v5, Blizzard confirmed the news in May, and it’s drawn mixed opinions ever since.

On one side of the argument, players claimed it was a “boring concept” and lamented over the decision to remove one of the tank roles.

“Imagine spending five years to perfect your role just for it to be deleted,” said Atlanta Reign’s Blake ‘Gator’ Scott.

However, others see it differently. For example, Boston Uprising president Chris ‘HuK’ Loranger said he was “bullish and optimistic” that it was a positive change and would be better both as a playing and viewing experience.

Seagull was asked about it during an episode of the Plat Chat podcast, and he believes it was a necessary change that will be good for the future.

“I look at it from the developer’s perspective, which is probably the easiest way to get an idea of how the game is doing,” he said. “What are they trying to fix? I think that’s the core. What is the problem that 5v5 is trying to fix?”

In his view, playing tanks in Overwatch has always been a “sad” role due to long queue times, and it got even worse after they introduced role queues.

“[It] has been amazing for the quality of games, [but] it turns out that the quantity of those games [suffered],” he said.

For that reason, he believes the developers chose to remove one of the tank roles because it “automatically” fixes the problem.

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“If I’m designing Overwatch, I’m [thinking we can] fix this problem [by reducing] the game from 6v6 to 5v5, [which means] we need literally one less tank for matchmaking. Therefore, we fix the problem just kind of automatically, right?”

Still, although Seagull is in favor of the change, many others aren’t.

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“5v5 is what seriously makes me question if I’ll continue enjoying Overwatch in the future,” said one fan. “I’m alright with everything else. I just feel like 5v5 is too much of a brute force approach.”

Either way, it’s a permanent change that’s here to stay. So, players will have to wait and see how it pans out once the game has been released.