Overwatch 2 community baffled by devs’ shocking 6v6 update
BlizzardOverwatch 2 has decided to keep 6v6 in the mix of things, but one strange decision seems to be impacting match quality and queue times.
Overwatch 2 has had a wonderfully successful playtest for a potential return to the 6v6 role queue format. The return of 6v6 has garnered positive praise throughout the community, with some stating that the game began to “feel like Overwatch again” and that 6v6 was generally an improvement for the game.
Blizzard took notice of the community glee and announced recently that the 6v6 role queue playtest would be extended until the middle of the season, then retired to make way for a second 6v6 format with different team restrictions.
However, this extension has seemingly come at a cost, as Blizzard has made one strange move that has left the community somewhat baffled.
Overwatch 6v6 is now an arcade mode
It was unexpected for Blizzard to extend the playtest, but it was doubly unexpected for them to extend it yet move it into the Arcade playlist. The Arcade playlist is home to more casual and gimmicky game modes such as Total Mayhem or Deathmatch, and generally can see longer queue times than some of the other modes.
Queue times on average for 6v6 were remarkably consistent and fast, but one Redditor noticed that queue times seemed to increase considerably with support queues reaching as high as an estimated 16 minutes. (When we tested the queue, it took a little over six minutes to get into a game as support, still an increase from prior queues which took one to two minutes on average.)
Some players also reported a decrease in overall match quality for the mode. When 6v6 was under Quick Play rules, leavers were punished and incentivized to play through the entire game despite any likely losses. Now as an Arcade mode, some players report an increase in leavers which inevitably damages match quality.
Ultimately, Blizzard has not revealed a reason as to why the mode was dropped into the Arcade playlist, but the most likely explanation is to more smoothly transition into the next 6v6 play test that will allow a team to have a maximum of three characters per role and a minimum of one per role.