Overwatch 2 could be going back to 6v6, as Blizzard plans gameplay tests

thesixthaxis.com:

Blizzard Entertainment has started to openly discuss switching Overwatch 2 away from 5v5 team matches and back to the 6v6 team sizes that defined the original game.

Writing in a Director’s Take blog post, Game Director Aaron Keller digs into the broad debate between 6v6 and 5v5, the advantages that the current form has, its difficulties, and announcing that Blizzard will be holding some gameplay tests to look at how it holds up.

The key reason to switch to 5v5 was to break up a tank-heavy meta. Now, with just one tank per side, there’s just one defensive barrier for a team to break through (double shield was a big issue), making damage character feel more effective, allowing healers to do more than just buff the front line, and making ultimates and ultimate combos less of an integral play.

The other positive side effects were a reduction in matchmaking times as the 1-2-2 format better matches up to what people actually want to play as, easier to read matches as you’re tracking nine other players instead of eleven, and even marginally improved performance.

Despite all of this, players of the game have consistently banged the drum for a return to 6v6. Two tanks both allowed for stronger team compositions that could make up for a weak link, and for heightened moments of chaos when a defensive line does fold. It’s a fun factor that the vocal parts of the community want to have back.

However, Keller notes that, “At the end of the day, we want to make the game that players want to play.” So, if people want 6v6 again, Blizzard needs to look at that.

He continues, “because we operate as a service to our players, we always remain open-minded to re-evaluating our decisions based on your actions and feedback, to give you the best game experience we can.  Rather than introduce a disruptive, permanent change to the game, we’d prefer to explore the space further and make changes based on that exploration.

“With that said, we’re looking at running a series of events to try out different