In a livestream on Thursday, Blizzard Entertainment announced that the upcoming Overwatch 2 will be changing its team layout. No longer will the game be played with six players on each team, now with only five. Rather than having two of each class, the famed Tank class will only be played by one person. Game director Aaron Keller said this regarding the change:
If you think about it, there is a lot going on in an Overwatch map. It is incredibly fast paced. We have always tried to make our combat easy to read and very understandable, and even with all of the work that we’ve put into that, sometimes it’s just hard to track what 11 other players are doing on the battlefield. Removing two of those simplifies everything, and it allows players to understand everything that’s happening around them, and to be able to make better choices.
This news comes as Overwatch is in the middle of a resurgence. While it has experienced some competition recently, the recent Anniversary event shows that there is enough steam to continue interest in the game beyond just the burgeoning Esports scene. The event has attracted new players and veterans alike to come back to the years-old game.
Another big change is the Tank class itself. While it will be under that name, Tanks are going to be more aggressive and attack-focused than prior. In the original game, the class was more focused on providing protection or fighting from farther away. It will be interesting to see what exactly this change looks like in practice, but in concept it looks to be an exciting prospect. More details for this are explained on the Overwatch site.
The livestream also covered a lot of other elements, such as new maps, new character designs and new modes. It features multiple members of the team working on the game, and loads of gameplay footage to show how these new concepts are working.
How do you feel about this change? Does this make you more excited or skeptical for this sequel? Discuss in the comments below!
