Blizzard Entertainment has unveiled its exciting roadmap for Overwatch 2's Stadium mode in 2025, detailing the heroes and features set to be introduced across Season 17, Season 18, Season 19, and beyond. In a comprehensive Director's Take blog post, game director Aaron Keller shares insights into the mode's past, present, and future, along with a surprise summer roadmap now that Stadium has been available for over a week.
Stadium Welcomes 7 New Heroes This Summer -------------------------------------The rollout of Stadium 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 to elevate the experience with the addition of Junkrat, Sigma, and Zenyatta to the roster. These heroes will be accompanied by the Esperança Push map and the Samoa Control map.
During Season 17, Blizzard plans to enhance the Stadium mode further by introducing Unranked Crossplay, new all-star rewards, custom games, additional example builds, and options to save and share builds. It remains unclear whether all these heroes and features will be available at the start of the season or rolled out progressively.
In Season 18, fans can look forward to the arrival of Winston, Sojourn, and Brigitte as playable characters. The Route 66 and London maps will also join the lineup, along with a new Payload Race game mode, which will include two new maps, a Stadium trials feature, and the ability to Endorse teammates.
Blizzard's commitment to Stadium's development is evident, with promises of "multiple new heroes" being added each season, drawing from both the existing Overwatch 2 roster and new characters yet to be revealed. For Season 19 and beyond, a new China map, a Draft Mode feature, consumables, and item system tweaks are among the planned additions.
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 for Stadium, revealing it as the most played mode in the game, surpassing both Quick Play and Competitive. During its launch week, Stadium saw 2.3 million matches played across 7.8 million hours, doubling the performance seen during Overwatch Classic's launch week.
Notable statistics highlight Lucio as the hero with both the highest win rate and the lowest pick rate, while players have spent a staggering 900 billion Stadium Cash and selected 206 million items for their builds.
In his Director's Take, Keller clarifies that Stadium's development began before Overwatch 2 launched, dispelling rumors that it was created in response to Marvel Rivals, which debuted in December 2024. Keller assures continued communication about Stadium, with more insights to be shared in the following week's Director's Take. He also emphasizes Blizzard's ongoing commitment to maintaining core experiences like Quick Play and Competitive, stating that Stadium complements these modes rather than competing for resources.
“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 the player base. This initiative follows an all-encompassing Spotlight presentation in February, which has led to the return of loot boxes and an improved Steam rating, with many fans celebrating what they feel is the best Overwatch experience in years.
While awaiting further updates, players can explore our comprehensive guide to understand how Stadium works and check out our recommendations for the best Tank Builds, DPS Builds, and Support Builds.
