Overwatch 2 is opening Pandora’s Box by revisiting 6v6

Ever since Overwatch 2 launched, discussion about the game’s format has been bubbling away. Obviously, when the ‘sequel’ landed, one of the big shifts was a change to team structure. Teams went from six players with two tanks to five players with one tank. 

The initial reaction to 5v5 was very positive. It refocused the game to be more about FPS-style gameplay and less about crowd control abilities and shooting shields. The game also just felt freer, and you were able to have more individual impact on a game with one less player running around. More than that, perhaps most importantly, ballooning queue times were finally under control as the role with the least people queuing was halved. 

However, as time went on, conversations began to sour. Inherent issues began to rear their head, and loud community voices started making noise, saying that Overwatch used to be better with two tanks. There are very good reasons for this, too.

As players became accustomed to Overwatch 2, ‘Tank Swapping’ became commonplace. The two opposing tanks would continually change their hero to counter the other tank. One player would play D.VA, the other would go Zarya. The first player would then change Reinhardt, and the second would respond by going Mauga. To Team 4’s credit, they’ve done a lot to try and keep this in check. They’ve tried nerfing tanks, buffing tanks, changing health pools of the entire roster, as well as buffing and nerfing outliers. In the past, this could be mitigated by a second tank, but now, you’re at the mercy of a single tank match-up.

Team 4 has never truly found a solution to its tank problem. As time passed, passions flared, and staunch camps of 5v5 and 6v6 formed to constantly debate what’s best for the game. This is no shade at the development team either – this is a really complicated issue, with lots of very good points on both sides. For the most part, this has largely been Overwatch academic debate; however, that changed with a recent blog post. 

6v6 feet under

In the latest developer post, Overwatch 2 director Aaron Keller spoke about the team’s philosophy in enormous depth and what the developers think about the 6v6 conversation. This is a rather fascinating document that provides a thorough and transparent perspective from the developer’s side. It’s rare to get something quite like this from a AAA dev team, and it’s proof that the Overwatch team has, for the most part, great communication with its community – even on charged topics you might expect them to dodge. 

The long and short of the blog is that Team 4 will be running several events focused on testing “different forms of 6v6 in the game to gauge the results.” By the sounds of it, these tests are not imminent, so it will likely take some time to get back to players. When they do arrive though, they’ll certainly be a really interesting experiment, and one that many players will jump in and try, if not just for the nostalgia factor. 

I admit to being more on the 5v5 side of this debate. I do think there are some rose-tinted glasses on 6v6, and I fear, as pointed out in the blog, that queue times will get out of hand if the game reverts. While the hardcore players may suggest they’re fine with longer queue times if it means 6v6 comes back – that doesn’t ring true for the casual Overwatch player, who pops on for a few quick play matches a couple of times a week. That’s the majority of the playerbase, and satisfying the people on X who argue about Overwatch’s best format is a relatively small portion of the audience. I also still have concerns about backbreaking metas coming back like double-shield and GOATS variants. 

That said, I’m not eternally spoken for on the issue, either. I’m very interested in seeing how 6v6 feels in the trappings of Overwatch 2. It will be a worthwhile test, and if it feels great and proves to be the future for the game – that’s excellent! However, if it doesn’t, things could get even more divisive going forward. 

What’s in the box?

In the blog post, Aaron Keller mentions his “anxiety about opening this Pandora’s Box,” mentioning his fears about queue times. It’s funny that he uses that turn of phrase because it’s a sentiment that felt persistent when reading the blog. Revisiting this concept, while a noble pursuit to try and move Overwatch forward and have an honest dialogue about one of the biggest debates in the history of the game, could also exacerbate the issue. And once it’s out of the box, it’s going to be mighty hard to put it back in.

I’m not convinced that Overwatch’s playerbase is ever truly going to agree on whether 6v6 or 5v5 is better for the game. Honestly, both sides have too many valid points to throw at each other, and people are already entrenched in what they think is best for the game. 

Even if the 6v6 tests come out and they feel horrible, and it’s obvious bringing it back won’t work, this debate will still rage. Arguments will abound about the balancing being wrong or players needing more time to readjust. Or perhaps simply, those on the other side of the debate just don’t know a good thing when they see it. 

Risk assessment

The problem is that this discussion remains so evenly split. A good indicator is a poll on X by ex-pro player Jake, which had over 33,000 people vote if they wanted 5v5 or 6v6. In it, 5v5 won by three percent. Even for the most engaged players, there’s no obvious way forward to placate everyone. 

If everyone hated 5v5, Blizzard could move towards scrapping it sooner. However, Team 4 now finds itself litigating one of the biggest changes the game’s ever seen with differing player feedback. That has the potential to get messy. 

Of course, you could just say, “They should just run 5v5 and 6v6 together in different modes like Open Queue.” However, in the current world where we only have just enough tank players to fill 5v5 games in a reasonable amount of time, splitting the playerbase by not just adding 6v6 but running both modes concurrently sounds unsustainable. 

Again, none of this is a criticism of the choice to reintroduce and test 6v6 modes. I’m very interested in seeing how it goes. However, there should be a certain level of caution as this merely has the chance to drive this divide even wider. These tests could come to a solid conclusion that works for most and betters the game. It could also embolden two camps that will never agree. 

That said, compared to where we were a few years ago, when the game only got life-support patches, this is night and day. Team 4 is making bold swings. There is a level of bravery to Keller’s post in reentering this debate with the community. It’s not one a lot of developers would do – and even while it has the chance to rip apart the community, I have nothing but respect for a developer deciding to dive into the mud and come up with a solution in front of everyone.