Overwatch 2's multiplayer PvP will be 5v5

Blizzard has announced that the PvP in Overwatch 2 will be 5v5.

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There is still a lot of mystery surrounding Overwatch 2. However, Blizzard shared a slew of new details on the upcoming hero shooter with a broadcast event. During the stream, it was revealed that PvP in Overwatch 2 will be 5v5, a change from its predecessor.

The Overwatch 2 developer stream took place on May 20 on the game's YouTube channel and gave insight as to what’s coming in the sequel to Overwatch. Though much of the core gameplay remains the same, there are some major changes coming. Quite possibly the largest we’ve heard so far, multiplayer will no longer be 6v6, it will instead now be 5v5. The developers state that there were several factors that led to this decision. One of which was the sheer amount of chaos that was a staple of Overwatch matches, especially when full teams converge on one location.

The developers also said that by having two less players in a match, it will give each player the opportunity to have a bigger impact on the game. As Overwatch players know, the 6-player team format features a dedicated split for roles. That’s still the case in Overwatch 2, but now, teams will only have 1 tank. This will surely have heavy implications on the game’s strategical meta.

We got to see 5v5 in action, as the developers showcased full matches of Overwatch 2 PvP along with commentary. There is currently no release date information for Overwatch 2.

News Editor

Donovan is a journalist from Maryland. His oldest gaming memory is playing Pajama Sam on his mom's desktop during weekends. Pokémon Emerald, Halo 2, and the original Star Wars Battlefront 2 were some of the most influential titles in awakening his love for video games. After interning for Shacknews throughout college, Donovan graduated from Bowie State University in 2020 with a major in broadcast journalism and joined the team full-time. He is a huge film fanatic and will talk with you about movies and games all day. You can follow him on twitter @Donimals_

From The Chatty
  • reply
    May 20, 2021 12:20 PM

    Donovan Erskine posted a new article, Overwatch 2's multiplayer will be 5v5

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      May 20, 2021 12:05 PM

      overwatch2 pvp news

      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5JM0LPrw6Fk

      first bit of news, OVERWATCH CHANGING TO 5V5, 1 TANK/2DPS/2SUPPORT

      lame

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        May 20, 2021 12:09 PM

        5v5 sucks. I’ve played with the same group the entire time and now someone will be getting left out.

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          May 20, 2021 12:20 PM

          sounds like you've got yourself a rotating commentator

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          May 20, 2021 1:12 PM

          Time to make cuts! Next person who can't clutch gets kicked gg no re

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        May 20, 2021 12:28 PM

        Good change. Now just make it 1/3/1.

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          May 20, 2021 12:58 PM

          DPS are on the whole the most boring characters. There are exceptions like Echo but lol

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            May 20, 2021 2:00 PM

            Personally, I'd go 0/4/1. The TF2 formula.

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            May 21, 2021 5:10 AM

            I'd agree except my boy Torbjorn is DPS now. I wish they'd give him the armor chucking back and put him on support.

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        May 20, 2021 12:42 PM

        now that im calm it might be cool. the most important thing in my eyes is each player feeling like they contributed or affected the game and 5v5 shoudl help that. ow1 had a lot of moments where you lost or won to no reason of your own

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        May 20, 2021 12:45 PM

        Oh Jesus...now infinitely more pressure on the one poor dude stuck playing tank. Pub games are going to be even more toxic--hooray!

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          May 20, 2021 1:02 PM

          Tank passives and general buffs should help. My bigger concern is that tank players need proficiency with a wider range of styles since there's just one per team and they can't lean on the other player to fill in those skill/knowledge gaps.

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            May 20, 2021 1:04 PM

            Like, can a player be good at the styles that would demand Reinhardt on one map, D Va on another (who most players have no idea how to play to begin with), Winston on another, Zarya on another, etc.

            Definitely puts way more pressure on them! If you lose a tank before they do that's generally the fight, etc

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              May 20, 2021 8:14 PM

              Having not played Overwatch but WoW everyone blames the tank and puts all the pressure on them for everything. If you don’t know a route or know precisely how to play it’s your fault even if it’s dps who are the problem.

              Sounds like OW1 had a good thing with two tanks to let off that pressure. I foresee the exactly same toxic mess that WoW has. Very few people want to be tanks leading to much longer queue times and way more toxicity.

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                May 20, 2021 10:55 PM

                Problem is the tanks queues were very long, despite them being the most important roles in the game since they set the tempo in fights, etc. Removing one solves that issue.

                It sounds like they're making them more durable than before with active and passive buffs, plus they'll have more support for them instead of the team splitting between one and the off-tank or flanking tank.

                I do think that the bigger issue will be picking the right tank for the right map, which for a good tank will mean proficiency with multiple types of tanks rather than just being good at one type (ie - are we playing around open space, tighter space, is taking vertical space important or not, etc).

                It puts more pressure on the tanks to perform for sure, you're totally right about that

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          May 20, 2021 6:12 PM

          Bummed I can’t go Rein flank anymore.

          I guess I’d miss the offtank roadhog/dva/wrecking ball but since there are less players, less division.

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            May 20, 2021 10:36 PM

            Wrecking Ball is a main tank!

            The kind of space the tank makes is generally more important in defining main and off tanks, not necessarily whether they have a shield or not

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        May 20, 2021 1:01 PM

        Tanks are the most important players on the team, they set the tempo, they have the most important character choices to make depending on map and side, etc.

        On the one hand it puts even more pressure on them to perform and know wtf they're doing, on the other hand most players are braindead when it comes to game knowledge and game sense so hopefully it funnels more specialists into the tank queue.

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        May 20, 2021 1:20 PM

        Ummmm I don't know what I was expecting, but this looks completely identical to Overwatch 1. I had to triple-check the video to make sure I was actually watching Overwatch...2?

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        May 20, 2021 2:14 PM

        y they do dis? :smh:

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        May 20, 2021 8:02 PM

        so, what happens to all the non-shield tanks? are they just never getting played, reclassified, or retooled?

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          May 20, 2021 11:30 PM

          Tanks aren’t defined by shield/no-shield, they are defined by if they can convert neutral or hostile space into safe space for their team.

          Shields (aside from Winston’s since that’s his survivability when he dives in) were mostly turned into paper last year. That already opened up the space for running only non-shield tanks, the more important question is what is the map being played

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            May 21, 2021 5:08 AM

            yes, 2 non-shield tanks work in a 6 man comp, but we're talking about a 5 man comp where you can only have 1 tank. 1 non-shield tank by themselves aren't going to disrupt without an extra body to help cover them or the team. despite shields (and armor) being nerfed, it provides more utility than a single beefy diver, it still reliably blocks damage (especially ults) and debuffs.

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      May 20, 2021 1:05 PM

      Havent played OW in 2 years maybe. If I reinstall, do I need to pay for anything to get the new characters/levels?

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        May 20, 2021 1:10 PM

        No pay to unlock for anything except loot boxes for cosmetics, which can be grinded for ofc

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      May 20, 2021 1:16 PM

      Aww man, it needed to go bigger like 12 v 12

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        May 20, 2021 1:54 PM

        stop living in the past tf2 was like 14 yrs ago

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