Blizzard reveals release date for new Overwatch 2 mode "Stadium"
17 April 2025
April 2025 is turning out to be an exciting milestone month for the millions of players and fans of Overwatch 2 all around the world. Just last week, we wrote an article about the Overwatch Champions Series (OWCS) 2025 Champions Clash, the first international OWCS event of the 2025 season. And now, Blizzard Entertainment, the studio behind Overwatch, have officially announced the long-awaited release date of a whole new game mode for Overwatch 2. Under the name “Stadium”, it will be launched on Tuesday, April 22nd, 2025.
Big development for Overwatch
For some time now, Overwatch has been amongst the most popular and most played international esports in the world. In February 2025, for example, the game attracted almost 21 million individual players. And now, Blizzard Entertainment has announced the launch date of a brand-new game mode called “Stadium”. The news had been coming for a while, but very few details had been revealed up until now. The last update in this sense came on April 14th, when Blizzard published an official gameplay trailer for the new game mode, but it provided more of a summary of what had already been revealed up to that point than a new information.
“Two teams will enter the Stadium but only one will emerge victorious in the ultimate contest of skill, strategy, and determination”, writes Blizzard on their own blog, “Stadium is unlike anything you've ever played in Overwatch 2, and it will take everything you’ve got to come out on top. Starting this week, we’ll go over what it takes to conquer the competition and claim victory in every match.”
In a nutshell, “Stadium” pitches two teams of five players against each other in spectacular new Overwatch arenas. There, they will have to battle each other in a best-of-7 format in order to earn upgraded items and powers with which to upgrade Heroes. And all of it will take place from a brand-new third-person point of view.
17 Heroes to start with
For Season 1 of “Stadium”, which is set to launch later this month, Blizzard have made 17 Heroes available. As the seasons advance, more Heroes will be added, especially if it turns out that the new game mode proves to be the basis of a whole new professional scene within the Overwatch 2 ecosystem. The same goes for the number of maps and game modes within “Stadium”.
“At launch, Stadium will feature 17 heroes, with more being added every season”, Blizzard explains, “At the start of each game, you’ll choose the Hero you want to play for the entire match, within a 1 Tank, 2 Damage, 2 Support composition. Following each round, you’ll first upgrade your Hero with Powers, ability-changing modifiers that can completely change how your hero is played. Then you’ll spend Stadium Cash, a new scoring currency used to purchase upgrades to your Hero’s kit in the Armory. With Items and Powers gained throughout the entire match, you’ll be in control of your uniquely built hero throughout the entire game.”