Overwatch 2 Stadium Summer Roadmap Unveiled by Blizzard

Blizzard Entertainment has unveiled its exciting roadmap for Overwatch 2 Stadium in 2025, detailing heroes and features to be introduced in Season 17, Season 18, Season 19, and beyond. In a comprehensive Director’s Take blog post, game director Aaron Keller shared insights into the past, present, and future of this new mode, which has been available for just over a week. The roadmap promises a thrilling summer ahead for Overwatch 2 players.

The rollout of Stadium will gain momentum 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 significantly. Heroes like Junkrat, Sigma, and Zenyatta will join the strategic multiplayer mode, alongside the new Esperança Push map and Samoa Control map.

During Season 17, Blizzard plans to enhance the Stadium mode by introducing Unranked Crossplay, new all-star rewards, custom games, additional example builds, and the ability to save and share builds. It remains uncertain whether all these heroes and features will be available at the start of Season 17 or rolled out throughout the season.

Season 18 will see the addition of Overwatch's beloved gorilla, Winston, as a playable character, joined by Sojourn and Brigitte. The Route 66 and London maps will also be added, along with a new Payload Race game mode featuring two new maps. Players can look forward to Stadium trials and the option to endorse teammates.

Blizzard assures players that "multiple new heroes" from both the existing roster and new characters will be added to Stadium each season. For Season 19 and beyond, a new China map is in development, along with a Draft Mode feature, consumables, and item system tweaks.

Overwatch 2 Stadium summer 2025 roadmap. Image courtesy of Blizzard Entertainment.

How has Stadium Performed so Far?

The Overwatch 2 team shared impressive stats for Stadium, which has quickly become the game's most played mode. During its launch week, Stadium surpassed Quick Play and Competitive, with 2.3 million matches played across 7.8 million hours. This performance is more than double that of Overwatch Classic's launch week.

Notable statistics include Lucio having 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.

Keller's Director’s Take also confirmed that Stadium was in development before Overwatch 2 launched, dispelling fan theories that it was created in response to Marvel Rivals, which debuted in December 2024.

Keller promised ongoing communication about Stadium, with more insights to be shared next week. He emphasized Blizzard's commitment to maintaining other core experiences like Quick Play and Competitive, stating, "Stadium isn't competing for those resources: it’s giving us more opportunities to deliver Overwatch in a new, exciting way."

Looking forward to Season 18, Keller teased, "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 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, with many feeling it's the best Overwatch experience in years.

For more information on Stadium, check out our guide on how it works, and explore our recommendations for the best Tank Builds, DPS Builds, and Support Builds.