Blizzard has big plans for Overwatch 2 in 2025, and one of them is a new mode that is unlike anything the game has seen before. Called Stadium, the mode is a competitive, round-based, third-person game mode where players upgrade their chosen hero over the course of a match using currency.
Revealed as part of Blizzard’s recent Overwatch 2 Spotlight livestream, Stadium is intended to join Quick Play and Competitive as a new, third pillar of Overwatch 2 when it arrives as part of Season 16 later this year. The mode will only be playable as a ranked game mode with role queue, and matches will play out in a “best of seven” format. Overwatch’s normal Control, Push, and Clash game modes will be featured in Stadium, and players will still be using Overwatch’s colorful cast of heroes. That, however, is where the Overwatch 2 players may be accustomed to ends and in many ways a whole new game emerges.
Overwatch 2’s Stadium mode will be played from a third-person perspective.
Stadium will be the first game mode in Overwatch 2 to support a third-person camera, something recent hero shooter Marvel Rivals has used to great success. Players will, however, have the option to still play in first-person should they choose. The mode will feature a pre-round “buy” phase, where players can spend currency earned each round to purchase ability upgrades and stat-boosting items, MOBA-style. Items can do everything from granting players simple stat boosts like more health and faster movement speed all the way to granting attacks life-stealing or reducing the duration of negative effects.