It’s going to take a lot more than another 6v6 test to pull me from Marvel Rivals back to Overwatch 2

The developers behind Overwatch 2 have shared a director’s take teasing changes coming to the hero-shooter, but I can’t help but feel like they are too afraid to acknowledge the writing on the wall.

When Overwatch was first released, I remember coming home from school ecstatic to learn my favorite heroes and play matches with my friends. The game felt so fresh, and I could collect a constant stream of rewards from the loot system. Now that time has passed, I can’t help but feel despondent when I think of Overwatch 2 and all the false promises involved.

Enter Marvel Rivals, a new hero shooter anchored in the eponymous universe that has taken the genre by storm. In light of its smashing success, it’s obvious that the developers behind OW2 need to innovate if they want to keep their player base, and they need to do it quickly. However, if the recent director’s take is anything to go by, I feel like they as are unaware of their precarious position.

While a majority of this announcement was centered around previous patches made to OW2, the developers did tease some changes in the form of a 6v6 ranked playtest. They are “not ready to swap the core format of the game,” so they are testing out 6v6 for a limited time during the middle of the next season.

At this point, I’m pretty tired of hearing developers over at Blizzard Entertainment tease things they are working on for OW2. After their entire PvE mode was showcased and subsequently cancelled, and I simply can’t trust vague statements and limited-time test runs of systems that may return in the future. If I’m going to hop back to OW2 and abandon all the fun I’m having on Rivals, I’m going to need something tangible to sink my teeth into.

Unfortunately, I think the developers have failed to realize that news of a mini 6v6 rank test that only exists for a limited amount of time isn’t going to pull me and many other players who jumped ship back aboard.

One user replied to the dev post, asking, “Why is it so hard to let go of 5v5?” While this sentiment was shared among many netizens, the developers had some statistics proving that only 10 percent of all games were 6v6 matches during the initial playtest. This evidence is certainly conflicting, however the playtest was also limited time, offered no rank modes, and released around the time when hype for Rivals was at a fever pitch.

Regardless of whether the 6v6 format ultimately stays or goes, I think the developers should focus on a single question: is this game salvageable at all? The majority of us are truly enjoying our time on Rivals, so the developers should consider if they want to make systems that provide meaningful changes im s permanent way. If the answer is yes, then I still think Overwatch 2 can win back players and exist for many more thrilling seasons.

Thankfully, Overwatch 2 is getting a more in-depth spotlight later in February that could shine a light on their plans for the upcoming year. Here’s hoping that exciting changes are coming down the pipeline.