Blizzard Entertainment has unveiled an exciting roadmap for Overwatch 2's Stadium mode, detailing 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 provided 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 Gets 7 New Heroes This Summer -------------------------------------The Stadium mode will see significant expansion starting 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 a substantial update. Heroes like Junkrat, Sigma, and Zenyatta will join the fray, accompanied by the introduction of the Esperança Push map and the Samoa Control map.
Blizzard plans to enhance Stadium's gameplay further in Season 17 by introducing features like Unranked Crossplay, new all-star rewards, custom games, additional example builds, and the ability to save and share builds. While it's unclear whether all these additions will arrive at the start of the season or be rolled out progressively, the anticipation is high.
Moving into Season 18, Overwatch's iconic gorilla hero Winston, along with Sojourn and Brigitte, will become playable. The Route 66 and London maps will also be added, alongside the exciting new Payload Race game mode, which will come with two new maps. A Stadium trials feature and the ability to endorse teammates will further enrich the experience.
Blizzard has committed to adding "multiple new heroes" to Stadium every season, including both existing Overwatch 2 characters and new ones yet to be revealed. Looking ahead to Season 19 and beyond, a new China map and a Draft Mode feature are planned, along with consumables, item system tweaks, and more.
Overwatch 2 Stadium summer 2025 roadmap. Image courtesy of Blizzard Entertainment.
How has Stadium Performed so Far?
Stadium has quickly become Overwatch 2's most played mode, with an impressive 2.3 million matches played across 7.8 million hours during its launch week. This surpasses the performance seen during the launch week of Overwatch Classic. Notably, Lucio has been identified as the hero with both the highest win rate and the lowest pick rate, while players have spent 900 billion Stadium Cash on 206 million items for their builds.
In his Director’s Take, Aaron Keller clarified that Stadium's development began before Overwatch 2's launch, dispelling rumors that it was created in response to Marvel Rivals, which debuted in December 2024. Keller emphasized Blizzard's ongoing commitment to transparent communication about Stadium, with more insights promised in the coming weeks.
Despite Stadium's popularity, Blizzard remains dedicated to the core experiences of Overwatch, including Quick Play and Competitive modes. Keller assured fans that resources are not being diverted from these modes but are instead being 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 revitalize its player base. This initiative began with an all-encompassing Spotlight presentation in February, leading to the return of loot boxes and an improved Steam rating, as players have celebrated what some feel is the best Overwatch experience in years.
While awaiting further updates, players can explore our comprehensive guide on how Stadium works and check out our recommendations for the best Tank Builds, DPS Builds, and Support Builds.
