Overwatch 2 will test 6v6 role queue matches starting December 17

A new season starts for Overwatch 2 next week, but one of the special modes we’ll be getting in the near future is a throwback to the past. For a limited time during season 14, there will be a 6v6 role queue mode, bringing back the original game’s composition of two tanks, two damage and two support. This mode will be available from December 17 through January 6.

The switch to five players on a team when Overwatch 2 launched was one of the more controversial choices at the time, we heard rumblings recently that Blizzard might walk back the decision. The current season included a full-on nostalgia trip mode where you could play 6v6 with only the original heroes as they were designed at launch. Yes, back in the days of self-healing Bastion mowing down everybody and Mercy undoing it all with full-team rez. The season 14 approach to 6v6 will be for the heroes as they exist now, with the current balance design in full effect. Blizzard said in October that they would explore how the community felt about the increased team size and consider if six-player teams should have more of a presence in the live game based on the player reactions.

It’s the right time to experiment with different tank playstyles, because that’s the role for the newest hero joining the game in season 14. Hazard is a spiky punk who deals a lot of damage at close range and can crowd control opponents by summoning a thorny wall. Think of him as a cross between Doomfist and Mei, with a Scottish accent.

The Overwatch X account also teased that the coming season will have another anime crossover. After collaborations with Cowboy Bebop and My Hero Academia, the next season will be channeling the elements with skins themed on Avatar: The Last Airbender. Omnic monk Zenyatta is clearly going to be reimagined as Aang, but the full lineup of cosmetics will also be unveiled on December 17.

And in a final piece of good Overwatch news, Blizzard shared that sales of the Pink Mercy charity skins earlier this year raised $12.3 million for the Breast Cancer Research Foundation. Well played, people.