Blizzard is ready to start making announcements regarding Overwatch 2. On Thursday, Overwatch 2 game director Aaron Keller announced a shift in direction for the game, prioritizing getting it in players' hands sooner rather than later. Now Blizzard is back for a Friday announcement, this time regarding the Overwatch League. In a new community update, Blizzard confirms some key details regarding Overwatch League Season 5, including a shift to an early version of Overwatch 2 -- but with a catch.
Overwatch League head Sean Miller officially confirmed that when Season 5 begins, it would be played in Overwatch 2. That includes all of Overwatch 2's PvP changes and additions, such as the change from 6v6 teams to 5v5, the introduction of new Hero Sojourn, a variety of Hero reworks, some map additions, and the new Push competitive mode. It'll be a dramatically different Overwatch League compared to what came before.
The full schedule for the fifth season of the Overwatch League has also been released. Overwatch League Season 5 will officially begin on May 5, starting a month of Kickoff Clash Qualifier matches. Following the completion of the fourth week of Kickoff Clash matches, the Kickoff Clash double-elimination tournament will take place in June. The rest of Season 5 will progress with Midseason Madness from June through July, Summer Showdown in August through September, Countdown Cup in September and October, and the Season 5 Playoffs in October and November.
There is a catch to today's announcement, however. As Overwatch fans know, Blizzard is delivering a much thinner Overwatch 2 experience to start rather than waiting to complete the full game. That means that this new version of Overwatch 2 for the Overwatch League will still feature most of the same content of Overwatch.
In practice, that means the map pool for the Overwatch League's 2022 season will largely be similar to what's come before. All three Control maps, Ilios, Lijiang Tower, and Oasis, are old maps. One of three Hybrid maps is new, one of four escort maps is new, and then both Push maps will be new, for a total of eight out of twelve maps being from Overwatch. It also means most Overwatch characters won't have been updated, too. While technically on the Overwatch 2 engine, the game will still be more Overwatch than its sequel.
The Overwatch League community update also confirmed one other bit of frustrating news. While Blizzard will be focused on rolling out Overwatch 2 content over time, it also has to preserve the Overwatch League's competitive environment. That could mean updates are delayed or released more slowly than fans want. How Blizzard balances its promised dedication to constant updates and the Overwatch League's need for spaced-out updates that don't radically change the game will be a lingering question through Season 5.
Overwatch 2 is in development for PC, PS4, and Xbox One.