What to Expect From Overwatch 2 in 2025

What to Expect From Overwatch 2 in 2025



Overwatch 2 is entering its third year of life following its release in August 2022. In 2024, the game saw a significant overhaul of its Competitive system, and new heroes like Hazard, Juno, and Venture joined the roster. Going into 2025, Overwatch 2 will continue innovating and experimenting as one of the best free-to-play shooters on the market.

Notably, a clear roadmap for the future of Blizzard’s hero-shooter has yet to be revealed. In previous years, the developers have typically shared key details a few weeks before the start of a new season, which, for 2025, will be Season 15. Regardless, with the game’s ever-evolving mechanics and growing roster, players can look forward to more exciting changes and updates this year, including Overwatch 2‘s highly anticipated return to China in February.

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All The Specifics Surrounding Overwatch 2 in 2025

Overwatch 2 2025 Visual

Overwatch 2 May Be Headed in a New Direction This Year

With the extension of Overwatch 2‘s 6v6 playtests, it’s apparent the first variation of the game mode has become immensely popular. In an X post (formerly Twitter) from January 6, Game Director Aaron Keller noted that there’s been “continued player interest and excitement,” which may bode well for fans of 6v6, who hope it will become a permanent fixture of the hero-shooter once more. Though it’s too early to say, Team 4 has already indicated that both 6v6 and 5v5 could co-exist in a Director’s Take from July that reads: “We would reflect carefully on the learnings from whatever test we run and explore how to best give players what’s being asked for. Whether that’s a world of 5v5, 6v6 or even both, is for future us to figure out.”

Going forth, with Marvel Rivals’ early success and gaining traction as a major contender in the hero-shooter genre, Overwatch 2 has an opportunity to continue carving out its own niche. Its focus on a first-person perspective and role queue appeals to players who value more structured gameplay. At the same time, its legacy as a former Game of the Year winner can reinforce its reputation as a well-optimized game. Still, Blizzard may opt for some significant changes, which could include the return of 6v6.

Overwatch 2 Reveals Competitive Plans for 2025

Overwatch 2 Season 14 Hazard Visual

Like the competitive overhaul of Overwatch 2 Season 9, Team 4 is planning more significant changes to ranked in 2025. The first pertains to the inability to acquire Jade weapons past Season 14. Players can still equip them, but any unspent Competitive Points will be converted to Legacy Competitive Points at the season’s end. The following weapon variant has yet to be announced.

Legacy Competitive Points can be used on Gold weapon variants.

Moreover, another Competitive Drive event is planned for the end of Season 14. According to Aaron Keller’s Director’s Take from December, the campaign will be “bigger than before,” though he did not mention any specifics. Several more of these limited-time events are likely in the future, as they tend to occur at least once per season.

Overwatch 2 Players Should Expect At Least 3 New Heroes And Several Mythic Cosmetics

Overwatch 2 Mythic Shop

With Juno bringing a fast-paced meta to Overwatch 2, Hazard rising to the top of the meta in Season 14, and Venture introducing exciting flank opportunities, the potential for what a new character could bring is intriguing. Given that the support role has the least characters, with only 11 heroes, Blizzard may look to add more in 2025. Interestingly, the tank role has just two more characters, totaling 13, so this category may also be worth watching.

Furthermore, each season introduces a new Mythic Skin, Mythic Aspect, and Mythic Weapon, which players can acquire via Mythic Prisms in the Mythic Shop. A fully unlocked Mythic Skin or Mythic Weapon requires 80 prisms, whereas a Gilded Aspect costs an additional 20 prisms. With 42 heroes on the roster and Mythic Weapons and Aspects recently introduced in 2024, plenty of variety and new heroes are up for consideration.

Overwatch is Likely to Continue Fleshing Out Its Map Pool

Overwatch 2 Throne of Anubis Deadeye

With no new game modes currently announced, it’s speculated that Blizzard will focus on expanding the existing map pool. Given the significantly fewer Flashpoint and Clash maps compared to other modes, it’s likely Blizzard will add more maps for these modes to increase diversity. It’s also worth noting that maps are typically rotated around new hero releases. If a new hero is added in a season, a new map is usually not included, but the following season will often feature a new map without a new hero. Team 4 won’t always introduce a new map at the start of every season. For instance, Season 9 didn’t feature a new map, likely because Blizzard was saving both Hanaoka and Throne of Anubis for the debut of Clash.

At the time of writing, the game modes with the fewest maps are:

  • Clash: 2 maps
  • Flashpoint: 2 maps
  • Push: 4 maps

Overwatch Surveys Have Revealed Potential New Battle Pass Themes and Skins

Overwatch 2 Survey Skins

Recent surveys by Blizzard have indicated that several new themed skins are being considered. These skins often align with the seasonal battle pass theme, though there are exceptions. It’s important to note that not all skins featured in surveys make it into the game, and in some cases, only one or two of the skins shown within a specific theme will be released. Many of these survey skins became a reality in Overwatch 2 Season 14.

Various unused survey concepts from older surveys may reappear in 2025.

The most recent list of Overwatch 2 survey skins includes the following concepts:

  • Battle Animals
  • Godchild
  • Haunted Dolls
  • Magepunk
  • Pirates
  • Sci-Fi Future
  • Y2K
  • Yokai

What to Expect From Future Overwatch 2 Collaborations and Arcade Events

Fans can look forward to Overwatch 2 continuing to add fresh Hero Mastery courses. Similarly, the game will continue to rotate different arcade modes, often coinciding with the time of year, new heroes, and any current collaborations. Annually recurring events such as the Summer Games will probably resurface around July, along with a third-anniversary celebration around September or October. A variation of the Winter Wonderland event will also likely return in December and January 2026.

As for Quick Play, fans can expect more 6v6 playtests in Overwatch 2. The first of these in 2025 will be in the form of “Max 3, Min 1,” which allows up to three heroes of a single role in a team, but there must be at least one hero in each role. This is an appealing option for players who want more freedom in hero choice but don’t necessarily want to play in an open queue match.

Additionally, 2024 saw the debut of the popular Overwatch Classic event, which is confirmed to return in Season 14 and potentially in future seasons. The first trial featured the original 21 heroes and 12 maps from Patch 1.0, released in 2016, while the second will focus on the 2017 Moth Meta. Future versions of the game mode may also reflect other compositions, such as the triple-tank, triple-support GOATS meta.

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