'We're extending the 6v6 playtest': The game director of Overwatch 2 stokes the flames that 6v6 will make an official comeback someday

The 6v6 vs 5v5 debate has been going on in Overwatch 2's community ever since the FPS changed format a couple of years ago. The loud minority of the fanbase has been calling for Overwatch 2 to return to its 6v6 roots, a cry that was ignored for over a year until the game director Aaron Keller announced that Blizzard would be trialing a limited 6v6 mode, which has now been extended.

Most of the arguments about why Overwatch 2 should return to 6v6 and abandon 5v5 are filled with nostalgia when, in reality, both versions have benefits and issues. The plus side to 6v6 was that tanks had more freedom, as one could hold down the fort while the other flanked alongside DPS for kills. But the queue times were longer, fights often felt like walking through wet cement because there were more enemies to kill, and players were held hostage by metas like double shield, which weren't fun for anyone.

Even so, Blizzard decided to introduce a series of playtests exploring how 6v6 would work in Overwatch 2, a game that has been designed around having five players on a team and only one tank for almost two years now.

I've played a bit of this 6v6 mode, and it's alright. It's each to their own when it comes to 6v6, but I didn't find it particularly fun or inspiring. Instead, I just had one more player to heal or kill—the team fights were slower, and pushes relied more on ultimates than kills or flanks. The tanks also felt less important—with lower HP and scaled-down abilities, I felt more like cannon fodder than the keystone of my team.

But for those who do enjoy it or haven't tried it out yet, there's a little more time on the clock for the 6v6 playtest. "We're extending the 6v6 playtest due to continued player interest and excitement for the mode," Aaron Keller says. "Starting tomorrow, the 6v6 card will move to the Arcade. It will be available until midseason, then transition to a 6v6 Open Queue format - Min 1, Max 3."

Min 1, Max 3 is the next version of 6v6 that Blizzard is testing in Overwatch and it does pretty much what it says on the tin. Instead of being restricted to two tanks, two DPS, and two supports, you'll have more freedom when it comes to creating your team. You can mix and match heroes as long as you have a minimum of one hero in one roll and a maximum of three in another. This means you could have three tanks, two DPS, and one support, or 3 DPS, two supports, and one tank, whatever you and your team think is best.

It's certainly an interesting premise but the same players who have been calling for 6v6 to be added to Overwatch 2 don't seem very interested in these temporary playtests. "Sick, but until it is in competitive, it's still not the full mode, in my opinion," one player says. Other players also seem convinced that 6v6 should be added to competitive play, but that's a monumental task that sees Blizzard unravel all the work made to balance and enhance 5v5 over the last few years.

Nostalgia can be nice, but in the case of 6v6, many players who want Overwatch 2 to make a return to its old format haven't actually played the game in years. They also don't necessarily prefer 6v6 over 5v5 for any tangible reason—it's more of a case of wanting things to be like they were. I understand this, but having played Overwatch since its release, I think returning to 6v6 would do more harm than good.

6v6 is also a slow, more muddled game than the current 5v5 mode. Fights are more frenzied, and individual players have even less impact on the outcome of the game than they currently do. Instead of erasing the progress made over the last few years in an effort to go back to the good old days, which often weren't actually as good as players remember it being, Blizzard should work towards moving forward and improving the game at hand.