Stadium is a new mode coming to Overwatch 2 that includes Mods, a new mechanic that lets you make incremental upgrades to stats and abilities to create your own build for your character. You’ll build one hero throughout a lengthy match that rapidly swaps between different maps and modes as a best-of-seven game. At the beginning of each round, players are given access to an armory and can spend earned points from the previous round to upgrade their character’s traits and abilities. Some examples given include Reaper being able to fly while in Wraith Form, Soldier: 76’s healing station gaining increased range and delivering a power boost to those in its radius, and Kiriko being able to teleport across the map without having to target an ally to do so. Blizzard describes Stadium as the ultimate “fantasy” of each hero, cranking their ability sets to an absurd level of destruction and chaos.
Another notable aspect of Stadium is that it’s all in third person. Blizzard says this is to help avoid screen clutter, which is only made worse as abilities become upgraded throughout the match. Stadium will launch with 14 heroes, with the rest of the cast added over time. We’ll have impressions of the mode on the site soon.