Overwatch 2 Stadium Summer Roadmap Unveiled by Blizzard

Blizzard Entertainment has unveiled its ambitious Overwatch 2 Stadium roadmap for 2025, providing exciting details on the heroes and features planned for Season 17, Season 18, Season 19, and beyond. In a comprehensive Director’s Take blog post, game director Aaron Keller shared insights into the new mode's past, present, and future, along with a surprise summer roadmap, just over a week after its launch.

Stadium Welcomes 7 New Heroes This Summer -------------------------------------

The Stadium rollout will continue with the introduction of the new Damage hero, Freja, in a mid-season patch for Season 16. However, it's Season 17 in June that promises a significant expansion. Junkrat, Sigma, and Zenyatta will join the strategic multiplayer mode, accompanied by the new Esperança Push map and Samoa Control map.

During this period, Blizzard will enhance the Stadium experience with features like Unranked Crossplay, new all-star rewards, custom games, additional example builds, and options to save and share builds. While it's uncertain whether all heroes and features will be available at the start of Season 17 or rolled out throughout the season, the anticipation is palpable.

Season 18 will introduce Overwatch's beloved gorilla hero, Winston, alongside Sojourn and Brigitte. New maps, Route 66 and London, will join the lineup, and a thrilling Payload Race game mode will debut with two new maps. Additionally, a Stadium trials feature and the ability to Endorse teammates will be introduced.

Blizzard assures fans that "multiple new heroes," including both existing and unrevealed characters, will be added to Stadium every season. For Season 19 and beyond, players can look forward to a new China map, a Draft Mode feature, consumables, and item system tweaks.

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

How has Stadium Performed so Far?

The Overwatch 2 team has shared impressive Stadium stats, revealing that the mode has quickly become the most played in Overwatch 2, surpassing Quick Play and Competitive. During its launch week, Stadium saw an astounding 2.3 million matches played across 7.8 million hours.

These figures dwarf the performance seen during Overwatch Classic's launch week, doubling its stats. Notable data points include Lucio boasting the highest win rate yet the lowest pick rate, and players spending a staggering 900 billion Stadium Cash to customize 206 million builds.

Keller's Director’s Take also clarified that Stadium was in development before Overwatch 2's launch, dispelling rumors that it was a response to Marvel Rivals, which debuted in December 2024.

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

YesNo

AnswerSee ResultsKeller emphasized Blizzard's ongoing commitment to transparent communication about Stadium, promising more insights in the next Director’s Take. Importantly, he reassured the community that Blizzard remains dedicated to the core experiences of Quick Play and Competitive, viewing Stadium as an opportunity to enhance Overwatch in exciting new ways.

“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.”

Overwatch 2 introduced Stadium with the launch of Season 16 last week, as part of Blizzard’s broader efforts to reinvigorate its player base. This initiative began with a comprehensive Spotlight presentation in February, leading to the return of loot boxes and an improved Steam rating, which many fans believe represents the best Overwatch experience in years.

While awaiting further updates, players can explore our guide to understand Stadium better and check out our recommendations for the best Tank Builds, DPS Builds, and Support Builds.