皆さん、こんにちは！コミュニティから寄せられるスタジアム関連の好意的なご意見、そして皆さんがスタジアムを楽しんでいる光景に、開発チーム一同、大変うれしく思っています。また、スタジアムが実装されて間もないにもかかわらず、すでに創意工夫を凝らしたビルドが数多く誕生しています。こちらには、さほど驚きませんでしたけどね。皆さんなら、素晴らしい想像力を必ず発揮してくれると思っていましたから！

さて今回の記事では、直近で導入する変更や、その後の開発計画についてお話しするつもりです。でもその前に、今後の計画をより体系的にお伝えするべく、スタジアムの開発史、つまり「過去」にも少し触れていきたいと思います。せっかくなら「過去、現在、そして未来」という響きのいいフレーズをタイトルに使いたいですしね！それでは、本題に入りましょう。
実をいうと、スタジアムのアイデアは「オーバーウォッチ 2」のリリース前から、それも開発チーム外で温められていました。うちの息子がサンプル・マップ付きの資料を作って私にプレゼンをしてくれたのが、すべての始まりです。それから、この度の実装を迎えるまでに長い年月を要するわけですが…こうした経緯もあって、このモードをプレイすると、いつも息子のことを思い出してしまいます。

スタジアムの初期のバージョンは、今のものと少し異なります。モードの内容に可能な限りバラエティを持たせようとしていたこともあり、当初は8チームによるトーナメント戦を想定していました。各プレイヤーがランダムに表示されたアップグレードを選んで、チーム・デスマッチまたはAI戦に挑戦。ラウンドに敗北するごとに、ライフを1基失っていく…これが初期のスタジアムのゲームプレイでした。しかし、アップグレードがランダムに決まるこの流れでは、敵チームの特徴にあわせて一貫性のある戦略やビルドを構築するのは困難です。

そこで、考え方を変え、各マッチの展開に独自性を持たせつつも、バラエティの豊かさは二の次としたのが、現在のスタジアムです。チームの構成やパフォーマンスに基づいて最適な戦略とビルドを構築できる、バランスと競争性の高いモードを目指した結果、今のバージョンが誕生したわけです。
スタジアムのバランスと競争性をより高めるべく、私たちはすでに皆さんからのフィードバックやプレイ・データに基づいて、各種調整を計画しています。

新たなイベント・モードを公開すると、短期間だけそのモードのプレイ時間が劇的に増加する…というのは、すでに見慣れた光景です。しかし嬉しいことに、シーズン16初週の「オーバーウォッチ 2」の合計プレイ時間のうち、実に半分近くがスタジアムのものと、短期間の増加にとどまらない傾向がスタジアムで見られています。

ミッドシーズンに導入する強化オプションとヒーローのバランス調整の内容は、これから数週間かけて収集するデータに基づいて決める予定です。場合によっては、もっと早めに調整を行うこともあるでしょう。

開発チームが進めてきたスタジアム関連の企画は、他にもたくさんあります。今週の初めには、RedditのAMA（質問コーナー）にて、開発チームが皆さんから特に多く寄せられている質問に回答しましたし、来週には、スタジアムのデータを分析して得られた知見を「ディレクターの視点」の特別記事で詳しくご紹介する予定です。これらもぜひチェックしてみてください。
スタジアムを楽しんでいる方のために、開発チームでは、このモードに関連した大規模なアップデートを数多く練っています。そうです。このモードの導入後も、「オーバーウォッチ 2」の他のモードのアップデートと並行して、新たなヒーロー、マップ、モード、システム、機能などをシーズンごとに実装していきます。

今後2シーズン中に導入する新コンテンツの数は、まさに膨大の一言です。

皆さんに今後の予定をわかりやすく説明するために、詳細なロードマップを以下にご用意しました。

ヒーロー：「オーバーウォッチ 2」の最新ヒーロー「フレイヤ」が、シーズン16のミッドシーズンで、スタジアムにも登場します。もちろん、今後追加されるヒーローはフレイヤだけでありません。私たちも、ヒーローのラインナップ拡充はスタジアムにおいて特に重要な要素だと考えているので、今後もシーズンごとにヒーローを複数追加していきます。選べるヒーローが増えるたびに、既存のメタも、ビルドのベストな構成も、激変していくことでしょう。

ゲーム・モード：スタジアムの新モード「ペイロード・レース」と2つの完全新規のマップに加えて、チーム内で「クエスト」と呼んでいる新要素を導入します。クエストは、マッチの開始時にランダムに表示される、モード内のチャレンジです。表示されたクエストの中から挑戦したいものを選び、そのクエストの目標を達成すると、報酬を獲得できます。

システム：新たなヒーローやマップに皆さんも期待しているかと思いますが、ビルドのカスタマイズをサポートする新システムからも目が離せません。シーズン17では、スタジアム外で作ったビルドをマッチ中に選べるようになる、ビルドのインポート/エクスポート機能をリリースします。この機能を使えば、皆さんご自身が作ったビルドだけでなく、コミュニティの他のプレイヤーが作成したビルドもそのまま利用できるようになります。

もちろん、皆さんから多く挙がっている例の重要な要素も忘れてはいませんよ。そう、クロスプレイです！スタジアムにはランク・マッチしかないので、今のところライバル・プレイと同様に、PC版のプレイヤーとコンソール版のプレイヤー混合のグループが認められていません。スタジアムがクロスプレイに対応していない点については、私たち開発チームも何とかしたいと考えていました。そこで現在、スタジアム向けのアンランク・マッチを実装する方法をチーム内で探っています。もしアンランク・マッチがスタジアムで実現すれば、環境が異なってもフレンドとグループを結成できるようになりますし、開発チームも、3ラウンド先取のような変更を加えやすくなるというメリットを享受できるはずです。



スタジアムに関するご紹介は以上です。この記事を締めくくる前に、スタジアム以外のコア・ゲーム・モードへの注力についてもあらためて言及しておきましょう。私たち開発チームはこれまでどおり、膨大な時間とリソース、情熱を注ぎ込みながら、従来のモードの開発にも当たっていきます。スタジアムのせいで、開発リソースの奪い合いが内部で起きているわけではないので、どうぞご安心ください。スタジアムの実装はむしろ、「OW2」のゲームプレイを刷新し、より面白くするうえで大きな活力となることでしょう。

今後のアップデート内容、特にシーズン18の新コンテンツを皆さんにお披露目できる日が楽しみで仕方ありません。きっと皆さんの期待に応えられる内容になるかと思います。それまで引き続き、スタジアムをお楽しみください。ともに素晴らしいゲームを作っていきましょう！

The ultimate battleground is yours to conquer in Season 16: Stadium.

Welcome to Stadium, our new permanent game mode! In this best-of-7, round-based mode, you’ll earn Stadium Cash to unlock powerful, game-changing abilities. You can even choose between first-person and third-person perspective to see your powers in action, and unlock rewards as you rise through the ranks.

Our new Damage Hero, Freja, is finally here. As a relentless bounty hunter, Freja thrives on mobility, precision, and calculated aggression. Her Revdraw Crossbow delivers powerful rapid-fire shots, while her Bola Shot Ultimate pulls enemies together for high-impact team plays.

Unleash your inner magical girl with DokiWatch! Join the fight against Woe with the dazzling Heroes of Heart, their leader, Mythic Heart of Hope Juno, and Mercy’s new Merciful Magitech Mythic Weapon Skin arriving later this Season.

Hop into Competitive Play to try out the new hero ban system, unlock brand new Battle Pass and Shop skins, enjoy the return of Overwatch Classic, and SO much more!

Overwatch 2 is free to play for everyone on console & PC!

Welcome to part four in our series on Stadium, Overwatch 2’s newest way to play! We’ve looked into how Stadium is played and planned the best Powers and Items for your Heroes, and now you’re ready to bag some bounties on the battlefield. Let’s take a deep dive into Stadium's competitive ranking system and the sweet rewards that only the best competitors will claim.

Stadium is ready to test the skills and strategies of every player—whether you’re Bronze or a Grand Master in Competitive Play, Stadium will be a whole new challenge. With a separate ranking system, there are different rules for climbing the ranks, and new rewards that you can only earn in Stadium.
There are seven Stadium Leagues with five skill divisions to progress through. First, you’ll start on the very bottom of the Rookie League—no placement matches. You must win games to reach higher Leagues and unlock better rewards, including exclusive Weapon Charms and exclusive Epic Skins.

Working your way up in Stadium works differently to Competitive Play, where your gains and losses are based on how your internal matchmaking rating is adjusted after every match. In Stadium, you’ll earn Points through winning games—to help you climb to new skill tiers and divisions—and you will lose points when you are defeated in higher leagues. You'll also have a separate rank for all three roles: Tank, Damage, and Support.

No points will be lost in the first two Leagues: Rookie and Novice. In Contender and Elite, after a loss, you will lose a small number of Points, meaning you risk being relegated back to Novice if you lose too many matches. At Pro and above, all wins and losses are worth close to the same amount of Points.

Due to the evolving nature of Stadium—with new Heroes, maps, modes, and abilities changing the meta every Season—your rank will reset at the end of each Season. You will be granted the rewards of the highest League tier you reach by the end of the Season.
While good teamwork is important in all areas of Overwatch 2, Stadium is best played when you can plan and test strategies that complement your teammates. With an entirely separate ranked ladder that is more about winning games than showing who is best of the best individually, Stadium is all about teamwork.

We want those of you that group up with friends to be able to play together regardless of the League each is ranked in, so there won’t be grouping restrictions, nor will you be separated by Narrow or Wide groups.
With Stadium comes new rewards for you to collect. You'll have the chance to unlock Stadium-exclusive Weapon Charms, Name Cards, and Titles based on the highest rank achieved. You will also earn exclusive skins for reaching certain Leagues.

Players will have a chance to collect exclusive Epic Skins are one-time, lifetime rewards, and will change every season. There is one per role, and you will receive them the moment you hit Elite with that role. For the opening season, you’ll earn an Orisa skin for the Tank role, a Genji skin for the Damage role, and a Moira skin for the Support role.

And get ready to shoot for the stars! If you can reach the All-Star rank in any role, you’ll unlock the Legendary Juno All Star skin. This highly elusive skin is only available only in the inaugural season for Stadium.

Playing Stadium will also earn you Competitive Points to unlock Gold, Jade, and Galactic Weapon Variants for your Heroes. Every win will grant 10 Competitive Points.
To celebrate launch, we’re kicking things off with a season-long event, Stadium: Initiation. Jump in and complete challenges for a variety of rewards including Name Cards, Player Icons, an Epic Loot Box, a Legendary Loot Box, an exclusive Rookie Soldier: 76 Epic skin, plus Battle Pass XP bonuses to kick off your progression through the Season 16 Battle Pass.

We took you through the key features of Stadium, what we learned in its development, talked about important strategies to secure that big win, and in this blog, wrapped up on ranks and rewards. We know you may still have questions, so we have prepared a special forum post[us.forums.blizzard.com] for everyone to answer questions about the new mode that we may not have covered here. And we’ve still got more to talk about for Season 16 in the days ahead, so stay tuned. We’ll see you in Stadium!

Welcome to part three in our series on Stadium, Overwatch 2’s newest way to play! Upgrading your Hero with Items and Powers to their maximum potential is your best chance of winning, so in this blog we want to explore some key strategies and ideas that may help you emerge victorious in Stadium.

There are four key pillars on the road to victory: Developing a Power Strategy; Making a Quick Buck; Spending Wisely on Items; and Watching Your Opponent's Strategies. Each of these work in tandem to help you become the MVP of every round. Let’s dive into the playbook!
Each Hero will have 12 different Powers to pick from, and you’ll select a new Power ahead of rounds 1, 3, 5, and 7. This means if the match lasts until the seventh and final round, you’ll have unlocked four Powers. Powers typically complement an ability, weapon, or aspect of your Hero’s kit, and choosing Powers that complement each other can really open up new possibilities.

For example, Kiriko can duplicate herself using the Clone Conjuartion to attack in two places at once. Mei can roll into battle by powering up her Cyro-Freeze with Coulder. D.Va literally turns the floor to lava with every use of her Boosters enhanced with the Ignition Burst power. The choices and combinations are nearly infinite, but understanding how Powers complement one another is a key factor for winning.
Where Powers support you in a unique way, Items give you the means to adapt to the evolving battle with a variety of interchangeable upgrades. Unlike Powers, Items can be sold for the same amount of Stadium Cash you initially spend on them, meaning you’ll be able to utilize your entire budget to adapt your strategy in every round.

Items are organized across three groups:

• Weapon - Great for upgrading Heroes whose gameplay is heavily focused on their weapon, such as Cassidy or Widowmaker.
• Ability - Great for heroes who depend on cooldown abilities like Orisa, Mei, or Moira.
• Survival - Great for nearly all heroes, but Support heroes like Mercy or Ana might opt to stay alive longer if they get caught by an opponent.

When equipping Items, you can open the stats panel to see how strong your hero becomes with each Item equipped, including total health, attack speed, cooldown reductions, and more.

Items will have different tiers organized into Common, Rare, and Epic .

Common Items will be the most affordable, providing a small buff to one of your different stats. Use Common Items in the early part of the game or to round off your budget for any open slots you may have left.

Rare Items give your stats a significant boost, and you’ll be able to start affording at least one Rare Item right after your first round. You can equip Rare Items to round out all aspects of your Hero’s stats, or put emphasis on one aspect of their kit for a high risk, high reward style of gameplay.

Epic Items are the most expensive and will often only come into play in the later rounds in a close match. Equip Epic Items to either boost your Powers strategy even more or to counter an opponent’s build.

Most Items will be available for multiple Heroes, but some Rare and Epic Items are exclusive to a specific Hero. These special Hero Items are designed to enhance a specific weapon, ability, or another part of your Hero’s identity that’s unique to them. For example, when Orisa equips Oladele-Copter Blades, she’ll be able to use Javelin Spin to literally fly short distances. Mei will be ready to speed skate her way to the front lines after she equips the Snowboots Hero Item. Ana’s enemies will think twice before diving her when she upgrades her Sleep Dart with the Tranquilizer Hero Item that increases its hit box by 500%!

At the start of the game, you’ll receive 3,500 Stadium Cash, which is enough to equip three Common Items for your Hero. You will earn additional Stadium Cash after every round , regardless of a win or loss. The better you play, the more Stadium Cash you’ll earn, as you deal damage, heal, provide assists, or secure eliminations. After each round, whomever performs the best and scores the most cash will be the round MVP and earn a bonus of 1,000 Stadium Cash.

If your team is falling behind, you can get back in the game quickly with a huge boost to your bank when you eliminate an opponent with a high bounty. All Heroes begin with a bounty value of 300 and if you eliminate an opponent, your own bounty increases by 75. Anyone that has a huge impact in the game will quickly raise their bounty value. If a Hero has a bounty value of 750 or more, they are marked in the team bar on the top of the gameplay HUD. The maximum bounty is 2,000. You can also check the scoreboard to see what the value for each Hero is at any time. Should you participate in the shared elimination of an opponent, a portion of that bounty is added to your Stadium Cash total based on how much you contributed to that elimination.

After being eliminated, your bounty value will reset down to 300. Don’t worry if a teammate is being heavily targeted—heroes who are at 300 bounty value when they are eliminated will lose 100 bounty (and go down to 200) as a result.

Earning as much Stadium Cash as possible will not only help you unlock more Items between rounds, it’s also your key to increasing your survivability each round. In addition to your Items and Powers, you’ll gain 1 max health for every 500 Stadium Cash earned, including what you have spent on items. All heroes can add a total of 300 additional max health through the full match, and Tanks will also gain speed and strength for every 250 Stadium Cash earned.
Throughout the game, you’ll be able to see what Powers and Items your opponents are picking. This information will help you decide what Items and Powers you should be equipping. You won’t be able to actively see what abilities are picked during the Armory phase of each round, but once selections are locked in, you’ll know what tricks everyone has packed.

If Mercy is focusing on maximizing movement speed and cooldown reductions with Guardian Angel, she can be a menace to catch. Powers and Items like Juno’s Pulsar Destroyer, Soldier: 76’s Super Visor, and Cassidy’s Quick Draw can enable abilities that auto-lock onto her. If Ashe is burning up the field with a Dynamite build causing multiple enemies to catch on fire, equipping Kiriko’s Talisman of Life Item and Two-Zu Power will really help extinguish the flames. Finally, if Zarya is focusing on a build that powers up her Particle Cannon’s primary fire, Orisa would normally be at a disadvantage. But when you combine Orisa’s Powers that enhance Fortify with the Ogundimu Reduction Field Epic Survival Item, Orisa will be able to tank through just about anything Zarya throws at her.

Different heroes will have different solutions, so check the scoreboard to see how your enemies are building up their heroes and work with your teammates to find powerful strategies that can counter them. While Overwatch 2 has always been about good skill and smart positioning, Stadium requires strategic planning as you progress through each round to make sure you come out on top.
Now that we’ve gone over key things to remember about using Powers, Items, and Stadium Cash effectively, let’s dive in further into two examples of how you can combine them together to create whole new ways to play your favorite Heroes.

Soldier: 76 - When you focus on Solider: 76’s Sprint and Biotic Field, you’ll be spinning your enemies around in circles. Throughout the round, select Powers that transform your Biotic Field into a powerful AOE weapon—Track and Field, On Me!, Back Off, and Frontliners. Combined with Hero Items like Compression Fatigues and Rapid Response Radius, you won’t need to shoot your enemies, just run around them in circles as the Biotic Field sends damaging waves of energy on your foes!

Kiriko - If you are a projectile master, then you’ll slice your way through the competition when you focus on powering up Kiriko’s Kunai. Powers like Foxy Fireworks, Keen Kunai, Triple Threat, and Spirit Veil will reward high-skill play with auto-reloading and explosive impacts. Combined with Hero Items like Tailsman of Victory and Cyclist Gloves, you’ll be able to jump into the front lines with boosted attack speed and dive on targets alongside your Damage role teammates.

These are just two strategies among dozens you can try out, and we can’t wait to see what combos you’ll come up with.
We can’t wait to see what exciting builds you’ll come up with, but we’ve got one more blog coming out your way. Tomorrow, we’ll take a dive into the exclusive rank system that Stadium will use and we’ll take a look at all of the cool rewards that you can earn in game as you climb your way to the top. Don’t forget, we’ll see you in the Stadium starting on April 22.

Welcome to part two in our series on Overwatch 2’s newest way to play, Stadium! Today, we want to highlight what has been improved upon since you last saw Stadium in action in the Overwatch 2 Spotlight.

• Part 1 - Get Ready to Battle!
• Part 2 - Lessons Learned from the Playtests
• Part 3 - Coming Soon
• Part 4 - Coming Soon

After announcing Stadium as part of the Overwatch 2 Spotlight, we ran a closed Alpha where thousands of players tried out Stadium for the first time. We were incredibly excited by all the feedback we received: we addressed hundreds of bugs, made updated changes to balance, and added various quality-of-life improvements. We’re so grateful to everyone who participated.
The biggest takeaway for us was truly how much our testers played Stadium. Most players returned for at least five of the seven 4-hour sessions, and we couldn’t be more appreciative. The number-one comment we heard was how much fun folks were having creating new hero builds.

This was incredibly awesome for us to hear, as builds are what sets Stadium apart from the core game we all know. Instead of hero-swapping, it’s how you equip certain items and powers every round that drives the gameplay.

As an early build, the playtest helped identify a few points of friction that we’ve since worked on. The feedback received helped us improve a variety of things such as item and power balance issues, and some problematic builds that proved to be overly powerful. For example, play-testers quickly discovered Cassidy was able to one-hit knock out heroes with 350 health or more and have the ability to auto lock on with a critical hit… yes, it was terrifying, but we got that fixed. We’ve also improved the variety of items you can buy and sell, including items that can help counter against powerful builds.

During these playtests, we had a “Mercy Rule” set so if a team won the first three games in a row, the match ended early. However, we quickly came to realize that sometimes a match isn’t exactly a stomp after the first three rounds, so we added a second condition before calling a match early. Now, if after a 3-0 the leading team has 15,000 Stadium Cash (or more) than the trailing team, the Mercy Rule will activate. Otherwise, at least one more round is played to give the trailing team a fair chance to reverse sweep.

We’ll be keeping an eye on the Mercy Rule and can tune it as needed in future updates. Our goal is to make sure every game has meaning while also not leaving players who are behind in a one-sided game from having to wait too long to be able to requeue for a new match.

Snowballing was also an issue in some matches. Even with bounties on key targets, a team that was significantly leading could access their more powerful items faster than the team catching up. Now, the trailing team will have Stadium Cash boosts, plus both teams earn increased passive cash throughout the match. It will still take extra effort to settle the score, but we hope this adjustment will prevent major snowballing.

We’re currently satisfied with the balance between all of our heroes, and we’re ready to launch. However, we’ll be watching your games very closely and plan to react quickly if any given item, power, or hero build starts to become too weak or too powerful, so keep an eye out for balance updates.
Stadium is a unique mode with a lot of things happening around your hero, making it harder to see everything while in the first-person perspective. For this reason, Stadium is set to default to third-person view. However, those who prefer to stay in first-person perspective (looking at you, FPS purists!) can switch to first-person in the game settings.

Players in third-person perspective have new elements on their reticle to indicate when their hero is reloading or when their attacks are being blocked by line of sight. We’ve added a field of view slider and players can assign a key binding to toggle which shoulder the camera overlooks. And of course, all these settings can be customized for each of your favorite heroes.

Stadium is just around the corner, and we can’t wait to see all of you group up with your friends and jump in the game. We still have a lot of things we want to cover in the days ahead too, including details on items and powers, and how you can create your own hero build.

Stadium is not just any mode for the arcade. It’s a permanent way to play Overwatch 2 alongside the core gameplay in Unranked, and Competitive. Stay tuned, as we’re planning updates for every season with more heroes, maps, items, and powers.

Again, thanks to all our content creators, fellow team members, and hundreds of players who jumped into the Stadium playtest last month. We know y’all can’t wait to jump in, but don’t worry, Stadium will be here soon!

Two teams will enter the Stadium but only one will emerge victorious in the ultimate contest of skill, strategy, and determination. Stadium is unlike anything you've ever played in Overwatch 2, and it will take everything you’ve got to come out on top. Starting this week, we’ll go over what it takes to conquer the competition and claim victory in every match.
Stadium is the new best-of-7, multi-round way to play Overwatch 2, where two teams of five face off in magnificent arenas as they purchase upgraded items and powers to radically transform their Heroes—all experienced through our new third-person camera.

At launch, Stadium will feature 17 heroes, with more being added every season. At the start of each game, you’ll choose the Hero you want to play for the entire match, within a 1 Tank, 2 Damage, 2 Support composition. Following each round, you’ll first upgrade your Hero with Powers, ability-changing modifiers that can completely change how your hero is played. Then you’ll spend Stadium Cash, a new scoring currency used to purchase upgrades to your Hero’s kit in the Armory. With Items and Powers gained throughout the entire match, you’ll be in control of your uniquely built hero throughout the entire game.

Before each round, you’ll have a short amount of time to equip Items and Powers in the Armory, while planning a strategy with your team. Here is where you’ll spend Stadium Cash to buy items to buff your Hero, but at the start of the first, third, fifth, and seventh rounds you’ll equip Powers for free.

Items are power-ups that can supplement a Hero’s weapons, abilities or overall survivability. Items come in three rarities—Common, Rare, and Epic—and while most can be equipped by every hero, some items will be exclusive for just your specific hero. At any given time, you can equip up to six different Items. When you need more cash or need to free up a slot, you can sell your equipped Items for their full value, then buy and equip new ones.

Powers are transformative modifiers that grant unique passives, modifiers, or whole new abilities. Equipping the right Powers together can create unique strategies that completely change how your Hero is played. Like Reinhardt sending lava across the arena with his Firestrike, or Kiriko being able to clone herself and leaving opponents seeing double. Powers don’t cost you Stadium Cash to equip, but once you equip a Power, it cannot be removed, so plan carefully.

If you don’t know which Items or Powers to pick at first, the game will suggest two different Example Builds for your Hero. These will include recommended Items and Powers that focus on a unique strategy or key part of your Hero’s gameplay kit. You can follow these, or use them as guides as you start coming up with your own innovative Builds. We’ll be detailing more on Items and Powers, as well as key strategies for planning your Hero Builds in an upcoming blog.

At the start of every game, you begin with 3,500 Stadium Cash, and you’ll earn more as you progress through the match. The better your performance, the more Stadium Cash you’ll earn. If you find that your team is falling behind, bounties can appear for opponents who are threats to your team. Eliminating a bounty target will grant you a portion of that bounty based on how much you contributed to the elimination of that opponent. The more Stadium Cash you have, the more versatile your selection of powerful Items will be.

Stadium offers nine different maps using Control, Push, or Clash core game modes, but with special rules in each. Some maps will be familiar destinations, while others will be brand-new arenas to brawl in. Over time, more maps and game modes will be added to Stadium, keeping how and where you play fresh.

• Clash will use the three objective points and will play until a team wins two of those objective points.
• Control will play one round, and the capture progress is faster.
• Push will be played on new and modified maps on a smaller scale with about half the distance to push your barricade in comparison to the full game mode.

Stadium is a complex game mode, and you’ll need to be able to know what is going on around you. There may be times when lava will spray across the walkways, multiple biotic orbs will fly across the area, or a giant death ray from orbit will come crashing down on you from behind. This is why Stadium, by default, uses a third-person perspective view as you play.

You’ll have the ability to tune and adjust your viewing experience in the new Stadium settings in your Game Options. Including adjusting your field of view, using special UI to show when you are reloading or when your line-of-sight is blocked, and more. Or if you prefer, you can always switch back to the traditional first-person view.
Stadium uses its own unique competitive ranking system, separate from Competitive Play. Due to the addition of new Heroes, abilities, Powers, and balance changes, at the start of every Season, ranks will be reset with everyone starting at the bottom of the Rookie League. You will climb up to higher Divisions and Leagues as you win games of Stadium. Each League will become more difficult as the risk of losing progress increases.

Stadium will feature unique and exclusive rewards from Competitive Play including all new Epic skins for select Heroes every season by climbing to the Elite Rank for each role. You’ll also earn Competitive Points to unlock Weapon Variants.

To celebrate the launch of Stadium in Season 16, compete in the inaugural season to earn the exclusive All-Stars Juno Epic skin when you reach the All-Star League in any role. There’s even more to learn about Stadium’s ranked mode, and we’ll cover that in a future blog later this week. Until then, shoot for the stars and prove you’re the ultimate competitor in the Stadium.

We can’t wait to see you in the Stadium, and we’ll have a lot more to share all week long. Check back tomorrow for an update on how Stadium has developed since when we first announced it during the Overwatch 2 Spotlight, thanks in part to the great feedback and learnings we gained from recent closed alpha playtests.

Until then, time to start making your gameplan with your friends—we’ll see you in the Stadium on April 22.

BlizzCon is back! The ultimate celebration of our games and the community that unites us is returning to the Anaheim Convention Center Saturday, September 12, and Sunday, September 13, in 2026.

One of our favorite traditions, BlizzCon brings us together over our shared passion for Blizzard’s universes, but at its heart, BlizzCon has always been about so much more. It’s about you, the communities you are a part of, and gives us the chance to connect, build friendships, and create unforgettable memories together.

We’ve come a long way since our first event in 2005. Over the past nearly 20 years since its inception, BlizzCon has inspired us to innovate, push the boundaries of creativity, and deliver once-in-a-lifetime moments. It’s important that we put on an event worthy of our community. For 2026, alongside BlizzCon staples like Opening Ceremony, in-depth panels, the Darkmoon Faire, friendly competition, hands-on gameplay, and more, we aim to meaningfully elevate this iconic celebration and create an unforgettable experience for all who take part in it. We are building this event just like we build our games: with a deep commitment to our players, with respect for your connections to our universes, and as a celebration of the strength of the bonds formed through shared adventure.

The road to BlizzCon starts here. We can’t wait to share more with you as our plans take shape. Visit https://blizzcon.com/ and sign up to receive BlizzCon updates: be among the first to know when tickets go on sale, and get access to BlizzCon news, special offers, and updates. Follow us on social media on Instagram[www.instagram.com], X (formerly Twitter)[www.x.com], and Facebook[www.facebook.com].

See you at BlizzCon!

Groundbreaking PvP changes, new heroes, new cosmetics, and more are heading your way during Overwatch 2 Spotlight!

Get a glimpse at the future of Overwatch 2 when you tune in LIVE

ヒーローの皆さん、こんにちは！

2025年、これまでの「オーバーウォッチ 2」の常識を覆すような大変更がPvPに導入されます。いつもの流れであれば、「ディレクターの視点」シリーズなどのブログ記事でその内容をご紹介するところですが、大変更ゆえに、文字だけで詳細を伝えるには不十分…ということで、今回は特別に、YouTubeとTwitch[twitch.tv]の公式チャンネルで「オーバーウォッチ 2：スポットライト」と題したライブ配信イベントを日本時間の2月13日（木）午前3時にお届けします！

この「オーバーウォッチ: スポットライト」では、先に触れたゲームプレイの大変更だけでなく、新ヒーローたちや新マップ、そして2月の新シーズンやその後のシーズンで登場予定の新コンテンツを、一足早くご紹介していきます。アメリカ本土の朝にあわせて配信される関係で、日本における放送は深夜（2月13日午前3時）になりますが、ご都合のつく方はぜひリアルタイムでご覧ください。

また、この「スポットライト」の一環として、「オーバーウォッチ 2」の人気コンテンツ・クリエイターをカリフォルニア州アーバインにあるBlizzard Entertainment本社へ大勢招き、本配信で紹介する新要素の体験セッションを催す予定です。この体験セッションのライブ配信をコンテンツ・クリエイターのチャンネルで1時間視聴することで、ルシオ用レジェンダリー・スキン「サイバーDJ」を限定Drops（特典）として入手できるチャンスも。必ず、Battle.netアカウントをTwitchまたはYouTubeのアカウントとリンク[us.battle.net]し、該当のコンテンツ・クリエイターのTwitchまたはYouTubeチャンネルをフォローして視聴してください。「スポットライト」に参加予定のコンテンツ・クリエイターについては、後日告知する予定です。どうぞこの機会をお見逃しなく！

「オーバーウォッチ 2：スポットライト」の配信は、日本時間2月13日午前3時。皆さんのご視聴をお待ちしています。ともに素晴らしいゲームを作っていきましょう！

Blast into action with the new Martian Support Hero Juno, a Mid-Year reset, Clash game mode featuring two new maps, divine Mythic Skins, and more.

Prepare yourselves for an interstellar adventure, as Overwatch 2 launches its highly anticipated Season 12! This season promises to be out of this world with Juno, the new Support hero from Mars. Get ready to brawl through two new maps in the Clash game mode and unleash the power of ancient Egyptian gods with the new Mythic Anubis Reaper Hero Skin and the upcoming Mythic Midnight Sun Ana Weapon Skin. And that’s not all—embark on this cosmic journey through the Premium Battle Pass and collect ancient wonders including the Legendary Bast Doomfist and Oni Ana skins, and more. Let's dive into the stellar features awaiting you in Season 12.

Juno has touched down on Earth! Millions of players have already welcomed our first Martian, and they have been excited to play her again. Now she's ready to glide her way into the action and provide simultaneous healing and damage dealing as the new mobile Support hero, who has journeyed from her home planet of Mars to join the fray. Juno’s versatile Mediblaster and Pulsar Torpedoes enable her to deliver both healing to her allies and damage to her foes at the same time, making her a fantastic Support hero. Her Hyper Ring ability accelerates team movements for quick engagements and retreats, while her high mobility, enhanced by Martian Overboots, allows her to navigate the battlefield with unparalleled agility. Then unleash the power of your Orbital Ray and power up your teammates to burst through tough chokes and fortified defenses.

Juno will be available for everyone when Season 12 launches, and you’ll be able to queue up and play her in Competitive Play. Be sure to tune in for more teases from our extraterrestrial visitor coming in the days ahead, including her premiere hero trailer on our official social channels.

Display powerful might to your opponents with the Mythic Anubis Reaper Hero Skin or the Mythic Midnight Sun Ana Weapon Skin. Collect Mythic Prisms as you progress through the Premium Battle Pass and unlock the God of Death or harness the wrath of the Sun God Ra. Progress through the Battle Pass tiers to unlock additional customizations for Anubis Reaper or stunning effects for Ana’s Midnight Sun Weapon that will transform your battlefield experience into an ancient war of the gods.

<h3>Hunt for Treasure in the Premium Battle Pass</h3>
Discover ancient treasures and cosmic wonders as you explore the Premium Battle Pass, featuring 80 Tiers of Rewards including up to 80 Mythic Prisms, five Legendary skins of Bast Doomfist, Oni Ana, Thoth Illari, Dorothy Ashe, and Captain Sigma, plus a 20% season-long XP boost, an additional 500 credits, and more. This is on top of other free rewards for all players including up to 600 Overwatch Coins, 1500 credits, and dozens of new cosmetics to collect. You will also earn up to 80 Mythic Prisms to unlock your choice of the Mythic Anubis Reaper Hero Skin, the Midnight Sun Ana Weapon Skin, or past Mythics including the return of the Mythic Ancient Caller Moira Hero Skin. You can also become the ultimate treasure hunter when you purchase the Ultimate Battle Pass that includes 20 tier skips, an additional 2000 coins, and the Heist D.Va and Aset Echo Legendary Skins.

This season is bringing all new Competitive Updates, as we reset the ranks to give everyone a fresh start and a new chance to work their way up the Competitive ranks. Also, as we mentioned in a previous Developer Update, we’re improving our Avoid as Teammate feature to give you a more tailored matching experience.  Finally, we’ve taken your feedback for our Group Respawn in Quick Play and have new improvements coming for that feature as well.

Stay tuned for more details in the next Director’s Take blog, coming this Friday from system designer Gavin Winter.
We also have new incoming hero balance changes to shake things up for Season 12. We have been seeing a lot of mobile heroes become favorite go-to picks and have a huge advantage in the current state of the game, so we’re doing a pass to reduce the health on multiple Damage and Support heroes. Lifeweaver is also getting notable updates to improve the quality of the Petal Platform and how it can be counter-played, along with changes to Healing Blossom and Rejuvenating Dash. Look for these updates in our patch notes coming later next week.
 Welcome to Clash, an adrenaline-pumping game mode that pits teams against each other in a relentless battle for dominance over multiple capture points. With dynamic spawns and streamlined map routes, heroes can spend more time in the heat of battle and less time running back to the front lines. Clash mode guarantees fast-paced, strategic gameplay, offering new challenges and opportunities for glory.

<h3>Explore Two New Maps</h3>
Return to ancient Egypt and discover a whole new side of Overwatch’s first map, Temple of Anubis, and discover the dangerous AI that caused the Omnic Crisis, sealed away in Throne of Anubis. Then discover new secrets of Shiramura Castle as you explore the streets of Hanaoka, inspired by the stunning aesthetics of the beloved Hanamura area.
Get ready to gear up even more, Heroes! Overwatch 2 is coming to Xbox Game Pass on September 17! To unlock these goodies, simply link your Battle.net account to an eligible Xbox Game Pass account.

Starting on September 17 you will receive an instant one-time grant of 30 Mythic prisms to spend on Mythic unlocks, and six awesome hero skins - Cardboard Reinhardt, Turtleship D.Va, Cyberdragon Hanzo, Street Runner Genji, Bee Mercy, and Cleric Lifeweaver. These items will be yours to keep, but you’ll need to login and ensure that your accounts are linked by Oct 21 to claim them.

Additional in-game collectibles will be ongoing while you remain subscribed to an eligible Xbox Game Pass account with your Battle.net account linked. These include an array of items via continuous access to select Overwatch 2 Shop cosmetics from prior seasons, plus a stackable XP boost. More intel will drop soon, so stay tuned for those details because you don’t want to miss this. Link your Xbox account today![account.battle.net]



Get ready for a cosmic array of new content and experiences! From the divine power of the Mythic Anubis Reaper to the Martian innovations of Juno, plus the exhilarating battles in the Clash game mode, there's something for every hero. Join the battle, unlock incredible rewards, and experience the thrill of the fight. Season 12 is here – are you ready to conquer New Frontiers? Log in and play today to embark on the interstellar adventure that awaits!