Blizzard Updates Fans on Overwatch 2 Summer Stadium Plans

Blizzard Entertainment has unveiled its exciting roadmap for Overwatch 2 Stadium for 2025, detailing the heroes and features set to be introduced in Season 17, Season 18, Season 19, and beyond. This roadmap comes as part of a broader strategy to enhance the game, following a Director's Take blog post from game director Aaron Keller, who shares insights on the past, present, and future of the new mode.

Stadium Gets 7 New Heroes This Summer -------------------------------------

The rollout of Stadium will intensify with the introduction of the new Damage hero, Freja, in a mid-season patch for Season 16. However, it's in Season 17, starting in June, where the excitement truly escalates. Players can look forward to the addition of Junkrat, Sigma, and Zenyatta to the roster, alongside the new Esperança Push map and Samoa Control map.

Blizzard plans to enhance Stadium further during Season 17 by introducing features like Unranked Crossplay, new all-star rewards, custom games, additional example builds, and options to save and share builds. Although it's not yet clear whether all these heroes and features will be available at the start of the season or rolled out progressively.

In Season 18, Overwatch's beloved gorilla hero, Winston, will join the fray, accompanied by Sojourn and Brigitte. This season will also see the addition of the Route 66 and London maps, and the introduction of a thrilling Payload Race game mode, complete with two new maps, a Stadium trials feature, and the ability to Endorse teammates.

Blizzard has committed to introducing "multiple new heroes" to Stadium each season, pulling from both the existing Overwatch 2 roster and yet-to-be-revealed characters. Looking ahead to Season 19 and beyond, players can anticipate a new China map, a Draft Mode feature, consumables, and tweaks to the item system.

Overwatch 2 Stadium summer 2025 roadmap. Image courtesy of Blizzard Entertainment.

How has Stadium Performed so Far?

The Overwatch 2 team has revealed impressive stats for Stadium, highlighting its popularity. Since its launch, Stadium has surpassed Quick Play and Competitive to become the game's most played mode, with over 2.3 million matches played and 7.8 million hours logged in the first week alone. This performance is more than double that of Overwatch Classic's launch week.

Notable statistics include Lucio holding both the highest win rate and the lowest pick rate, and players spending a staggering 900 billion Stadium Cash on 206 million item selections for their builds.

In his Director's Take, Keller clarifies that Stadium was in development before Overwatch 2's launch, dispelling rumors that it was created to compete with Marvel Rivals, which debuted in December 2024. He promises continued transparency and more insights into Stadium in the coming weeks.

Have the recent Overwatch 2 changes done enough to convince you to return? --------------------------------------------------------------------------

YesNo

AnswerSee ResultsKeller reaffirms Blizzard's dedication to the core modes of Overwatch, emphasizing that resources are not being diverted from Quick Play and Competitive. Instead, Stadium offers a fresh way to enjoy Overwatch, and the team is excited about what's in store, especially for Season 18.

“Before signing off, I'd like to reiterate the team’s commitment to the Core modes of Overwatch," Keller stated. "We’re still pouring as much time, energy and passion into these as we always have. Stadium isn't competing for those resources: it’s giving us more opportunities to deliver Overwatch in a new, exciting way.

"We can't wait for you to see what's coming there, especially Season 18. It's going to be a banger! Have fun with Stadium and, as always, let’s make a great game.”

Stadium was introduced with the launch of Season 16 last week, part of Blizzard's efforts to reinvigorate the player base. This initiative began with a comprehensive Spotlight presentation in February, leading to the reintroduction of loot boxes and an improved Steam rating, as players celebrate what many consider to be the best Overwatch experience in years.

While we await further updates, you can explore our guide to learn more about how Stadium works and check out our recommendations for the best Tank Builds, DPS Builds, and Support Builds.