6v6 is Back in Overwatch 2, and Blizzard Just Kinda Left It There ⇒ OverwatchCentral

Remember when everyone was fighting over 5v5 vs 6v6 in Overwatch 2? Yeah, that whole mess blew up last year. Some players liked the faster 5v5 matches, while others missed the chaos and strategy of the old 6v6 setup.

Well, guess what? 6v6 is actually back in Overwatch 2—and Blizzard didn’t really make a big deal about it. No trailer, no announcement, it just quietly showed up and stuck around.

Here’s how it all went down.

From One Blog Post to Full-On Return

Over a year ago, Game Director Aaron Keller wrote a blog explaining why they moved to 5v5. He also admitted that a lot of players still wanted 6v6 back, so Blizzard said they’d do some testing.

That testing started in Season 14. At first it was just some modified 5v5 modes. But then they added two real 6v6 formats – one with classic role queue and one with flexible team comps that still had limits.

Players liked it. The numbers were solid, but it didn’t break the game or bring back every old player overnight. Still, Blizzard kept going.

Ranked 6v6 Is In the Game Right Now

In Season 15, Blizzard added 6v6 to both quick play and ranked. This version is open queue, not the old locked 2-2-2 format. That means teams are a bit more flexible, but there’s still a limit of two tanks.

They kept it going in Season 16 and then again in Season 17. They didn’t even talk about it in patch notes. It’s just there now.

Aaron Keller recently mentioned 6v6 in a blog as one of the ways people play Overwatch today. That pretty much confirms it’s staying.

Not Everyone’s Happy

Some players still want the original 2-2-2 6v6 back. Right now it’s open queue, so your team comps can get weird if no one wants to play support or tank.

But the truth is, Overwatch still does a better job than most games when it comes to balancing team roles -even in open queue. Most matches settle into decent team comps pretty fast.

It’s not perfect, but for a lot of players, it’s good enough. The best part? You can pick between 5v5 and 6v6 now. No need to argue about which is better. Just play what you like.

Why Did Blizzard Do It Like This?

Blizzard probably didn’t want to reignite the whole 5v5 vs 6v6 debate. That conversation got way too toxic last year. A lot of the loudest players have already moved on to other games like Marvel Rivals, which has its own problems with unbalanced teams.

By quietly adding 6v6 back, Blizzard gave players more choice without turning it into a big fight. And honestly? That was probably the right move.