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Blizzard EntertainmentBlizzard has officially announced how it’s bringing 6v6 back to Overwatch, and it’s definitely more than what we expected. Beyond just bringing the old ways back to the game after removing them for Overwatch 2, Blizzard has announced a new event called Overwatch Classic that will reflect what the game was like with Overwatch 1.0.
Before Ana and Sombra, before defense and tank were one class, and before added game modes, Overwatch redefined the hero shooter and conquered the genre for years (although that might be changing soon with Marvel Rivals and Deadlock on the horizon). Over time, the developers have fine-tuned the heroes, changed a lot of their move sets, and introduced changes in an attempt to give all classes a chance and to remove the possibility of players building unbalanced metas.
There have been two giant changes over the series’ history. The first is the introduction of the role queue to ensure there were a set number of roles (two damage, two tanks, and two support) per team. Then, with Overwatch 2, the Blizzard team changed the game from a 6v6 experience to a 5v5 one.
Overwatch Classic is a series of limited-time events where players can experience what the game used to be. According to a blog post, the events will “feature heroes and balance from popular moments in the game’s history, ranging from the fast-paced and frantic gameplay of the 2017 Moth Meta to the triple-tank, triple-support style of Goats.”
In this first edition — which launches on November 12 and runs to December 2 — Blizzard will be bringing back the original maps and the first four modes. Players will also be able to play with the original 21 characters, along with their kits. So, yes, that means Widowmaker is back to being overpowered and Symmetra is still a support hero that needs a lot of work. The developers are also adding the No Hero Limits rule during the first few days, so you can return to that classic five Genji composition if you want.
Of course, the biggest change is the move back to 6v6 fights. While Blizzard was confident in the switch to 5v5 when it launched Overwatch 2, the team has since found that it didn’t address all of the problems. For example, it reduced the variety between matches and didn’t help with balancing tank characters.
The blog post clarifies that Overwatch Classic isn’t a part of the team’s broader 6v6 plans. They still want to do tests over time to gather more feedback.
Carli is a technology, culture, and games editor and journalist. They were the Gaming Lead and Copy Chief at Windows Central…
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