Overwatch 2 Releases Massive Season 16 Update

Overwatch 2 Season 16 is here, and with it comes a lengthy set of patch notes detailing important features from the update, including the Stadium game mode, Competitive Hero Bans, and changes to several Perks. With a new hero also joining the roster, Season 16 is shaking up the Overwatch 2 formula in a big way.

The 16th season of Overwatch 2 is officially live, bringing with it one of the biggest updates in the game’s history. As before, Season 16 has refreshed the Overwatch 2 Battle Pass with a slew of new skins, including Dokiwatch cosmetics featuring the Mythic Heart of Hope Juno and a cycle of demonic rock band skins for heroes like Mauga, Illari, and Lifeweaver, with Iridescent Aspects for all existing Mythic skins becoming available starting May 20.

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Overwatch 2’s Team 4 Discuss Stadium Heroes, Maps, and More

Game Rant speaks with Overwatch 2’s development team on the inner workings of the hero shooter’s newest 5v5 game mode: Stadium.

Now, to prepare players for the update, Overwatch 2 has released patch notes detailing the major aspects of Season 16. Stadium, the new game mode that the season itself is named after, is the headlining feature of the update. This best-of-seven contest of skill and ingenuity features customizable Powers and Items for the 17 Overwatch 2 heroes that will be available at launch, which are selected between rounds at the Armory. With nine maps, a third-person camera view, and its own Competitive ranking system, Overwatch 2 intends to make Stadium a new pillar of the FPS with consistent updates and support from this point forward.

Outside of Stadium, Overwatch 2 is getting a new hero in the form of Freja, a search-and-rescue Overwatch operative turned bounty hunter. A highly-mobile damage hero reliant on precision, tactical use of abilities, and the fastest-charging ultimate in the game, Freja has a challenging-yet-satisfying gameplay loop with a high skill floor and ceiling, promising a rewarding experience for fans who master her.

Hero Bans have also been officially added to Competitive Play. Using this new feature, Competitive Overwatch 2 players can ban up to four heroes in a single match using a ranked voting system. No more than two heroes in any single role can be banned each game, ensuring gamers should still have plenty of characters to choose from.

Of course, no Overwatch 2 update would be complete without some balance updates. 20 Overwatch 2 heroes had some of their underperforming Perks either buffed or replaced, including Reinhardt, Sombra, and Mercy. Additionally, Orisa, Hanzo, Baptiste, Lifeweaver, and Freja all received buffs to their core kits. On the other side, Tracer and Ana both received a nerf to one Perk to offset a buff to another, and Winston, Wrecking Ball, and Zenyatta received general nerfs, though the latter two only apply to 6v6. These adjustments and more are all officially live in Overwatch 2 right now.

Overwatch 2 Season 16 Patch Notes – April 22, 2025

Season 16 – Stadium

Enter the ultimate battleground with Stadium , an all-new way to play Overwatch 2 where customization takes the reigns in a fun, best of seven, round based fight. Then, celebrate the launch with the Stadium: Initiation seasonal event to unlock exclusive rewards. Plus, the relentless bounty hunter Freja arrives as the latest DPS Hero, bringing precision and mobility to every match. Meanwhile, the battlefield transforms with stunning skins, from the Dokiwatch team—led by Mythic Heart of Hope Juno—to Legendary Ashe, Genji, Brigitte, Lifeweaver, and Mauga in the Premium Battle Pass. Whether you’re outwitting opponents in Stadium, hunting your prey with Freja, or wielding magic with Dokiwatch, this season is packed with action, strategy, and a whole lot more.

Stadium: Initiation

Celebrate Stadium’s launch with the Stadium: Initiation, a special event where winning earns you more than just bragging rights. Make a name for yourself by conquering challenges, climbing the ranks, and unlocking seasonal cosmetics like the Stadium Rookie Soldier: 76 and Stadium All-Star Juno skins before they’re gone. Perfect your strategy, dominate your opponents, or just simply rake in some wins for the fun of it (and the prizes)—the Stadium: Initiation event is the here for you to flex your skills and reap the rewards all season long.

• Take on event challenges to earn Stadium: Initiation exclusive rewards like the Soldier: 76 Stadium Rookie skin and additional rewards.
• Reach All-Star rank in the new Stadium ranking system to earn the S16 exclusive Stadium All-Star Juno skin.
• Complete multiple challenges for unique loot boxes.

Introducing Stadium

Step into Stadium, an all-new way to play Overwatch 2! This fast-paced, best-of-7, round-based experience you to strategically build your Hero’s loadout, customize on the fly, and outmaneuver your foes with tactical upgrades to rise through the Stadium ranking system. With the option to play in first or third person, bounties to speed up progress or make comebacks, and the freedom to play your Heroes in completely different ways, no two battles will ever be the same. Plus, Stadium will have 17 Heroes available at launch with regular updates bringing more Heroes, modes, Items, abilities, maps, and balances to keep things fresh. Rewrite the rules, conquer the ultimate battleground, and have some fun in Stadium. Learn more about how Stadium is played in our official blog.

• Stadium is a new core game mode listed alongside the Unranked, Competitive Play, and Arcade cards in the main menu.
• Two teams of five compete across multiple rounds and maps.
• First to four round wins will win the match.
• Available only in Role Queue.
• Custom Game modes are not yet available for Stadium.
• Players may group up with other players regardless of skill or Competitive rank in Stadium.

Stadium Maps

• Nine new or modified maps on three different map types are added.
• Control maps play one round only and capture progress is faster.
• Clash maps play on three objective points only.
• Push maps play with distance to the objective at approximately half the distance as full Push maps.

Heroes

• Heroes selected are locked in for the entire match.
• Tank Heroes: D.Va, Junker Queen, Orisa, Reinhardt, and Zarya.
• Damage Heroes: Ashe, Cassidy, Genji, Mei, Reaper, and Soldier: 76.
• Support Heroes: Ana, Juno, Kiriko, Lucio, Mercy, and Moira.
• Perks are not enabled in Stadium.

Stadium Cash

• Spend Stadium Cash to buy Items for your Hero and gain additional max health.

Earning Stadium Cash

• Each player starts with 3,500 at the beginning of the match.
• Players earn more Stadium Cash by dealing damage, providing healing, and getting eliminations or assists.
• Players can earn bounties by eliminating or assisting with eliminating an opponent that has been performing well.
• The player on each team with the most Stadium Cash earned for the round receives a 1,000 cash bonus.
• A team that is significantly behind at the start of a round will have a bonus multiplier added to their earnings throughout that round.

Bounties

• Every player starts with a value of 300 at the start of the match.
• Every time a player gets an elimination or assist their bounty value increases by 75 and can have a maximum value of 2,000.
• Every time a player with more than 300 is eliminated their bounty is reset to 300.
• Every time a player with 300 or less is eliminated their bounty value drops by 100.
• Any player with a bounty of 750 or more is displayed in the gameplay HUD.

Increase Max Health

• For Damage and Support players every 500 total cash earned adds 1 additional max health at the end of the round and for the remainder of the match.
• For Tank players every 750 total cash earned adds 1 additional max health for the remainder of the match.
• Up to 300 additional health can be added on from Stadium Cash earnings.
• The initial 3,500 cash at the start of the round does not provide additional max health.

Armory

• At the start of each round, players will enter the Armory and have a limited time to browse.
• Players can use Stadium Cash to buy Items that modifies their weapons, abilities, and more.
• On round 1, 3, 5 and 7, players can equip Powers for transformative modifiers that enhances and changes that Hero’s playstyle.
• Example Builds are available for every Hero. These are great places to start!

Items

• Players can have up to six Items equipped at any time.
• Players can sell previously obtained Items for equal value to the purchase price.
• Items are organized into three categories, Weapon, Ability, and Survival.
• Weapon Items typically modify the stats of weapons that have no cooldowns to use.
• Ability Items typically modify the stats of abilities that are limited by a cooldown or ultimate charge.
• Survival Items typically modify the stats of the Hero’s survival capabilities including max health, movement speed, and more.
• Items are organized into Common, Rare, and Epic tiers. Common Items are the most affordable with Epic ones being the most exclusive.
• Many Items are available to equip for all Heroes.
• Each Hero will have exclusive Hero Items that specifically change the attributes of that Hero’s weapons, abilities, or passives.

Powers

• At the start of the 1st, 3rd, 5th, and 7th round players will equip a Power for their Hero.
• Powers cannot be removed once they are equipped.

Leagues

• Stadium is a competitive mode with its own ranking system.
• There is a total of seven Leagues, Rookie, Novice, Contender, Elite, Pro, All-Star, Legend
• Each League has five divisions with 5 being the lowest rank and 1 being the highest.
• Players start in the Rookie Division 5 League every season.
• Players gain Stadium Points for every match win along with progress to advancing into the next League.
• In the Rookie and Novice Leagues, players do not lose Stadium Points for a loss.
• Players lose small amounts of Stadium Points after a match loss in the Contender or Elite Leagues.
• Players lose similar amounts of Stadium Points to what they win after a match loss in Pro, All-Star, and Legend Leagues.

Rewards

• Players earn 10 Competitive Points for every match win in Stadium.
• Players earn additional rewards including Name Cards, Weapon Charms, and Titles based on which League they reached the highest throughout the season and these rewards are only useable for the duration of the next season.
• Players can earn the Epic Orisa Elite Skin by reaching the Elite League in the Tank Role in Season 16.
• Players can earn the Epic Genji Elite Skin by reaching the Elite League in the Damage Role in Season 16.
• Players can earn the Epic Moira Elite Skin by reaching the Elite League in the Support Role in Season 16. Players can earn the Legendary Juno All-Star Skin by reaching the All-Star League in any Role in Season 16.

Competitive Leaver Penalties

• The same leaver penalties for Competitive Play also apply for Stadium.
• Players who disconnect or leave will only have a few minutes to return without penalty.
• Players who abandon a match entirely will be given the same penalties as if leaving a Competitive Play match up and including a season ban.
• Players who are suspended or banned in either Stadium or Competitive play cannot play both modes while that suspension is in effect.

New Hero: Freja

Once Overwatch’s top search-and-rescue operative, Freja now uses her elite tracking skills to hunt targets as a merciless bounty hunter. Agile, aggressive, and lethal, Freja rewards players who think fast, reposition smart, and strike with precision. Armed with her Revdraw Crossbow and a deadly set of movement abilities, Freja excels in high-pressure combat. Plus, her Bola Shot Ultimate tangles enemies together, setting up devastating team plays. With a dynamic, strategy-driven kit, she’s built for players who thrive on precision—and she never misses her mark.

• Freja is added to the Hero Roster
• Freja is now playable in Competitive Play

New Mythic Skin: Heart of Hope Juno Hero Skin

Juno, the newest Hero of Heart, steps into the fight against Woe with her Mythic Heart of Hope skin, featuring four brilliant stages of customization that evolve as her radiance grows. From a bright-eyed protector to an unstoppable warrior, and even a corrupted version lost to Woe In between, her progression tells a story of resilience and destiny. With dynamic ability VFX, shifting colorways, new hairstyles, and the Sharks of Dreams by her side, Juno’s transformation is more than just cosmetic—it’s a magical journey, yours to shape.

New Mythic Aspect: Iridescent Aspects

Introducing the new Iridescent Aspects, a prismatic upgrade that lets you bring even more personality to your fully leveled Mythic Hero Skins. This dazzling new customization option adds a vibrant, high-energy finish, making your Hero stand out like never before. Mythic Heart of Hope Juno’s Iridescent Aspect debuts at launch on April 22, with all previous Mythic Hero Skins gaining their Iridescent Aspects starting May 20.

General Updates

Streamer Protect

• New Option: Hide Player Icon from Others – Displays the default player icon instead.
• New Option: Hide Name Card from Others – Hides the Name Card, as if no Name Card were equipped.
• New Option: Hide Player Title from Others – Hides the Player Title, as if no Player Title were equipped.

Reporting Features

• Players can now receive an instant notification if a player is already actioned.
• Prior to this feature, reporting a player that had already been banned or suspended would not result in any additional information. The Instant Reporting Feedback feature will immediately inform the player of the fact that banned or suspended players have been actioned when they are reported.
• Players can now Report from Replays. This new feature benefits from Instant Reporting Feedback described above. Since Replays can be shared, a new set of measures has been developed that will always prevent organized mass reports from taking actions against players.

Competitive Play Updates

Hero Bans

• Hero Bans have been added to Competitive Play modes.
• Before the Ban Phase, players will be able to select their Preferred Hero. Selecting a Preferred Hero does not prevent it from being banned, it just communicates which Hero the player would like to play. This selection is optional.
• Players will enter the Ban Phase before the Versus Screen is displayed.
• Players can communicate with their own team during this phase but can’t see or communicate with the enemy team.
• Bans are simultaneous, with each team banning 2 Heroes with a Ranked Choice system.
• Each player’s first choice carries the most weight, while their second and third choices contribute proportionally fewer votes.
• Players aren’t required to choose any Heroes to ban; they can pass by pressing the Ready button.
• Players can reset all their ban choices with the Reset button, or they can select any current choice and then swap that choice individually.
• Players can see which Heroes their allies are choosing to ban and which Hero they prefer to play on the left side of the screen during the bans phase.
• Allied choices are ordered from left to right, with the leftmost choice being their highest priority to ban.
• Ban Results are calculated when the Ban Phase ends. Only 2 Heroes can be banned per role.
• If a Hero is tied for votes, ties are broken by the number of players that voted for that Hero.
• If Heroes are still tied, ties are broken randomly.

Developer Comments: The battlefield just got more dynamic. With Hero Bans, you can influence matchups in Competitive Play through team-based voting to remove key counters from the game, leading to fresh strategies. You can remove up to two Heroes per match per team, so coordinate with your team, adapt your plans, and shape the meta your way.

• In 6v6 Game modes, wave respawn threshold reduced from 6 to 3 seconds.

Developer Comments: At the start of Season 15 we introduced perks, and it’s been amazing to see how you’ve embraced and experimented with them. Our goal is to make sure there’s always a meaningful choice when it comes to both Minor and Major perks, with decisions influenced by the state of the game and your preferred playstyle. We’re constantly iterating on perks, which is why we’re making some changes across the Hero roster. There will be new perks for 9 Heroes, aiming to give those Heroes fresh and exciting ways to fight on the battlefield. We’re also fine-tuning several perks to improve the gameplay experience for both players who use them and those who face them. It’s been incredible to watch the community embrace this new system, and we’re constantly reviewing your feedback to make Perks as great as they can possibly be!

Tank

• D.Va
  • Bunny Stomp
    • Now combined with Ejection Suit.
  • Bunny Power
    • New Minor Perk
    • Eject grants 75 temporary overhealth and Call Mech’s damage radius is increased by 50%.
  • Extended Boosters
    • New Minor Perk
    • Hitting an enemy with Boosters increases the duration by 0.5 seconds.
• Hazard
  • Off the Top
    • Increase Leap Slash’s damage from 30% to 50%.
• Orisa
• Developer Comments: Orisa has been underperforming in comparison to other tanks. Increasing her damage to allow her to be more threatening without boosting her survivability.
  • Augmented Fusion Driver
    • Damage increased from 13 to 14.
  • Fortify
    • Now prevents Hack’s ability lockout from interrupting abilities.
  • Heat Dissipater
    • Increase amount of heat reduced per headshot by 33%.
• Reinhardt
  • Fiery Uptake

  • Crusader’s Fire
    • New Minor Perk
    • Refund a charge of Fire Strike when you stun an enemy, overfilling up to 3.
  • Shield Slam
    • Shield Slam distance increased by 50%.
• Roadhog
  • Hog Toss

  • Pent Up
    • New Minor Perk
    • When Pig Pen is triggered, refill 50% Take a Breather resource which can overfill.
  • Hogdrogen Exposure
    • Increased radius from 8 to 10 meters.
• Sigma
  • Levitation
    • Jump can now be held down to hover.
• Winston
• Developer Comments: With the introduction of perks, Winston has been overperforming. By adjusting his survivability—exchanging some of his armor for health—we aim to bring him in line with other tanks, without significantly impacting his overall gameplay.
  • Base health increased from 225 to 275.
  • Base armor reduced from 250 to 200.
• Wrecking Ball
  • In 6v6 game modes, Armor health reduced from 150 to 100.

Damage

• Cassidy
  • Past Noon

  • Even the Odds

  • Regenerate 20 health per second for each enemy targeted by Deadeye.
• Freja
• Developer Comments: We received positive feedback during Freja’s Hero trial, and it’s exciting to see how much you enjoy experimenting with her kit. However, we’ve noticed that Freja is struggling to keep up with other Damage Heroes, particularly in terms of lethality. So, we’re adjusting the time it takes for her to earn her minor perk, bringing it in line with other Heroes. Additionally, we’re increasing the number of shots before her max spread kicks in, making her Revdraw Crossbow more reliable at all ranges. Finally, while Freja’s Bola Shot was charging quickly, its effectiveness was somewhat lacking. We’re boosting both its damage and radius slightly, ensuring it can better secure eliminations when it lands.
  • Time to earn Minor Perk reduced by 18%.
  • Revdraw Crossbow
    • Number of shots before max spread increased from 8 to 12.
  • Bola Shot
    • Bola Shot Damage and Explosion radius increased from 5 to 5.5 meters.
    • Bola Shot damage over time increased from 75 to 90.

• Hanzo
• Developer Comments: Restoring the functionality of Hanzo’s Storm Bow to retain draw progress will enable him to use wall climb more effectively, improving his ability to take space and position himself.
  • Storm Bow
    • Arrow draw progress is preserved while wall climbing.
  • Storm Arrows
    • Projectile speed increased from 110 to 140 meters per second.

• Junkrat
  • Aluminum Frame
    • Now also reveals trapped enemies to allies.
  • Tick Tock
    • The description has been changed to “Concussive Mine strengthens .5 seconds after landing, increasing damage by 50%, explosion radius by 50%, and health by 200%.”
• Mei
  • Chilling Reach

  • Biting Cold
    • Moved to Minor perk.
    • Secondary fire hits slow enemies by 20% for 1.5 seconds.
  • Deep Freeze
    • New Major Perk.
    • Continuously hitting enemies with primary fire freezes them for a short time.
• Sombra
  • Viral Efficacy

  • Encrypted Upload
    • New Minor Perk.
    • Hack can be used while invisible, successful hacks increase the duration of stealth by 2 seconds.
  • Stack Overflow

  • Viral Replication
    • New Major Perk.
    • Hitting a hacked enemy with Virus spreads Virus to enemies within 8 meters.
• Soldier: 76
  • Field Emergency
    • The description has been changed to “Biotic Field’s healing is increased by 100% on Low health targets.”
• Torbjörn
  • Overloaded Turret
    • Now transforms into Level 3 Sentry Turret if Overload was activated before fully constructed.
• Tracer
  • Flashback
    • Blinks restored reduced from 3 to 2.
  • Quantum Entanglement
    • Quantum Entanglement now additionally grants 20 over ammo.

Support

• Ana
  • Groggy
    • Reduced initial slow from 75% to 50%.
    • Now also deals 50 damage over the duration.
  • Biotic Bounce
    • Second bounce damage and healing reduced from 50 to 25.
• Baptiste
  • Biotic Launcher
    • Healing explosion increased from 50 to 60.
    • Direct impact healing increased from 20 to 30.
    • Maximum ammo reduced from 13 to 10.
  • Assault Burst
    • Will now do instant healing but cannot critically heal low targets.
• Juno
  • Hyper Boost

  • Re-Boots
    • Moved to Minor Perk.
    • Duration increase removed.
  • Locked On
    • New Major Perk.
    • Reduce the cooldown of Pulsar Torpedoes by 1.5 seconds for every enemy hit.
• Lifeweaver
  • Thorn Volley
    • Projectile speed increased from 80 to 100 meters per second.
  • Lifeweaving
    • Bonus healing increased from 30 to 40.
• Lúcio
  • Groovin

  • Beat Drop
    • New Minor Perk.
    • Amp it Up is active during Sound Barrier.
• Mercy
  • Angelic Recovery

  • Angelic Resurrection
    • New Minor Perk.
    • Mercy gains 100 overhealth after casting Resurrect.
• Zenyatta
  • Orb of Discord
    • In 6v6 game modes, Duration before expiring when target is out of sight reduced from 3 to 1.5 seconds.
  • Ascendance
    • Jump can now be held down to hover.
  • Duality
    • Increased converted damage from 20% to 30%.

Bug Fixes

• Heroes
  • Juno
    • Fixed an issue with Juno’s Ember skin.
  • Kiriko
    • Fixed an issue preventing Kiriko’s wall climb animation from playing after swift step.
  • Ramattra
    • Fixed an issue with Rammatra’s Void Barrier animation.

Overwatch 2

6/10

Released

August 10, 2023

ESRB

T For Teen // Blood, Mild Language, Use of Tobacco, Violence

Engine

Proprietary Engine