Image: Blizzard Entertainment
Overwatch 2 doubles down on nostalgia by reverting to its most broken state.
Blizzard Entertainment is breaking Overwatch. Okay, that’s an overstatement – but the developer is bringing Overwatch’s 6v6 matches back with all heroes reverted back to their original forms at launch. That means Hanzo’s Scatter Arrow is back along with Cassidy’s Flashbang, all of which will be included in a new event called Overwatch: Classic.
Here’s a nostalgic trailer:
Overwatch: Classic kicks off this week, bringing game back to Patch 1.0
Blizzard Entertainment is officially turning Overwatch 2 into Overwatch 1. Sort of. The developer has announced Overwatch: Classic, a new-but-old game mode that brings the hero shooter back to its launch state from all the way back in 2016. This includes the return of 6v6 matches with two Tanks on both teams, reset hero balance changes, and original hero skins.
Overwatch: Classic will run from November 12 to December 2, 2024, making this a limited-time event mode. The event will feature a series of changes throughout this period, introducing new balance changes and modes to mix things up. This will kick off by bringing Overwatch back to its Patch 1.0 launch state from May 2016, before adding “heroes and balance from popular moments in the game’s history, ranging from the fast paced and frantic gameplay of the 2017 Moth Meta to the triple-tank, triple-support style of ‘Goats.’”
If you need a refresher on exactly what Patch 1.0 entailed back in 2016, it can be safely defined in one word: chaos. 6v6 Open Queue matches allowed for up to six Tanks per team, multiple turrets on payloads and completely broken Roadhog hooks. Widowmaker could snipe players with ease, and Hanzo’s Scatter Arrow was practically an Ultimate ability. Junkrat and D.Va could damage themselves with their own abilities, and worst of all, Mercy could revive her entire team from the dead using her Resurrect Ultimate ability.
Overwatch: Classic will launch with a No Hero Limits rule, meaning that players can pick up to six of the same hero, before enforcing single hero limits for the remainder of the event. Other balance changes reverting to their 1.0 state include health pools, damage output, Ultimate costs and projectile sizes. It’s a very different game than Overwatch 2 as it exists today, to say the least.
One thing won’t change, however; while all four of Overwatch’s original game modes (including Assault) are coming back, their maps will retain modern-day design changes. This includes recent changes to launch maps like Dorado, Numbani, Route 66, and Watchpoint: Gibraltar. As for whether Overwatch: Classic is sticking around beyond its December 2 endpoint, Blizzard hints that “While we’re not planning for this to be a single event, we will be measuring player response to inform our future plans.”
Overwatch: Classic runs from November 12 to December 2, 2024.