Blizzard Entertainment has recently unveiled an exciting roadmap for Overwatch 2 Stadium, detailing the heroes and features planned for Season 17, Season 18, Season 19, and beyond in 2025. In a detailed Director's Take blog post, game director Aaron Keller shared insights into the past, present, and future of the new mode, which has been available for just over a week. This update includes a surprise summer roadmap and an explanation of the mode's origins and performance to date.
Stadium Gets 7 New Heroes This Summer -------------------------------------The rollout of Stadium will continue with the addition of the new Damage hero, Freja, in a mid-season patch for Season 16. However, it's Season 17 in June that promises to elevate the experience with the inclusion of Junkrat, Sigma, and Zenyatta. These heroes will join the mode alongside the Esperança Push map and Samoa Control map.
During Season 17, Blizzard plans to enhance the Stadium experience with features such as Unranked Crossplay, new all-star rewards, custom games, additional example builds, and the ability to save and share builds. While it's not clear if all these heroes and features will be available at the start of Season 17 or rolled out throughout the season, the excitement is palpable.
Moving into Season 18, players can look forward to the addition of Winston, Sojourn, and Brigitte as playable characters. The Route 66 and London maps will also become available, along with a new Payload Race game mode, two new maps, a Stadium trials feature, and the ability to Endorse teammates, adding a new layer of social interaction to the game.
Blizzard has committed to adding "multiple new heroes" to Stadium each season, including both existing Overwatch 2 characters and new, unrevealed heroes. For Season 19 and beyond, a new China map and a Draft Mode feature are on the horizon, along with consumables, item system tweaks, and more, promising a dynamic and evolving gameplay experience.
Overwatch 2 Stadium summer 2025 roadmap. Image courtesy of Blizzard Entertainment.
How has Stadium Performed so Far?
The Overwatch 2 team has shared impressive stats on Stadium's performance, revealing it as the most played mode, surpassing Quick Play and Competitive. In its launch week, Stadium saw 2.3 million matches played over 7.8 million hours, significantly outperforming Overwatch Classic's launch week by more than double.
Notable statistics highlight Lucio as the hero with the highest win rate yet the lowest pick rate. Players have also spent a staggering 900 billion Stadium Cash on selecting 206 million items for their builds, showcasing the mode's engagement and appeal.
Aaron Keller's Director's Take also clarifies that Stadium was in development before Overwatch 2 launched, debunking theories that it was a response to Marvel Rivals, which debuted in December 2024. Keller promises ongoing communication about Stadium, with another Director's Take planned for next week.
Despite Stadium's popularity, Blizzard remains committed to the core experiences of Overwatch, including Quick Play and Competitive modes. Keller emphasized the team's dedication to these core modes, ensuring that resources are not being diverted from them to Stadium but rather used to enhance the overall Overwatch experience.
"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, as part of Blizzard’s efforts to reinvigorate its player base. This initiative began with an all-encompassing Spotlight presentation in February, leading to the reintroduction of loot boxes and an improved Steam rating, with many players feeling it's 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 to optimize your gameplay experience.
