Overwatch 2 has officially re-enabled mirror matches in Competitive Stadium after fans made it clear they were displeased with the system. Though Overwatch 2 initially banned mirror matches in ranked Stadium games as of Season 18, this restriction has officially been indefinitely removed from the game mode.
Season 18 of Overwatch 2 was released on August 26, bringing with it some significant changes to the game. Stadium alone got a bunch of new content, including three heroes, the Payload Race game mode, and an unranked Quick Play mode with crossplay. Competitive Stadium also received the Hero Draft system, in which gamers could no longer select heroes that the other team had already picked.
Competitive Stadium Mirror Matches Are Back in Overwatch 2
While Hero Draft has been popular, players were not a fan of the banned mirror matches. Gamers made their displeasure known on the forums and social media, prompting Overwatch 2 game director Aaron Keller to make a statement about it. According to a recent post on Twitter, Overwatch 2 has officially removed the mirrored hero restriction from Competitive Stadium Hero Draft, and seemingly has no plans to bring it back any time soon.
Keller went on to say that Overwatch 2 has loved introducing popular new features to the game, such as Stadium itself. However, taking big swings comes with the risk that it won’t always “land the way we want.” He also promised to “adapt and iterate as quick as we can” when this happens – and considering the mirror matches were taken down a mere two days after the update, it sounds like players have plenty of reason to believe him.
One of the main reasons the Stadium mirror match ban didn’t work was because of its limited roster. With only 24 heroes available in Overwatch 2 Stadium as of Season 18 – just over half of the normal roster – there simply isn’t enough wiggle room when every hero must be unique. This limitation could theoretically work better once the list of Stadium heroes is filled out, but given the pushback, it remains to be seen if Overwatch 2 will ever try it out again.
Regardless, Stadium is getting its 25th hero during the Overwatch 2 mid-Season 18 update in the form of Tracer. Assuming it continues to add heroes at this pace, by this time next year, every hero will likely be in Stadium, including any future heroes as well. Fans will have to see what other ways this exciting new game mode will change between now and then.
Overwatch 2
6/10
- Released
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August 10, 2023
- ESRB
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T For Teen // Blood, Mild Language, Use of Tobacco, Violence
- Engine
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Proprietary Engine
