Overwatch is bringing back 6v6 Role Queue in Season 6
Blizzard is adding a 6v6 Role Queue Competitive mini season for the first four weeks of Overwatch Season 6, alongside 5v5 and Open Queue 6v6.
11th Nov 2026 10:45
Image via Blizzard Entertainment
Overwatch is bringing back 6v6 Role Queue in Season 6
Blizzard is adding a 6v6 Role Queue Competitive mini season for the first four weeks of Overwatch Season 6, alongside 5v5 and Open Queue 6v6.
11th Nov 2026 10:45
Image via Blizzard Entertainment
Overwatch players who've spent years asking for the old 2-2-2 days to come back are finally getting their wish, at least for the first month of the next season.
Blizzard has confirmed that a 6v6 Role Queue Competitive mini season will run for the first four weeks of Overwatch Season 6, which VGC reports starts on December 8, in a new Director's Take blog post from game director Aaron Keller published on November 10.
On day one of Season 6 there'll be three Competitive options to pick from, the standard 5v5, Open Queue 6v6 and the new Role Queue 6v6 test, and Blizzard is also shipping a dedicated 6v6 balance patch that will apply to both six-player modes, which Keller says was the community's other big request.
Six of one, half a dozen of the other
Keller explains that Overwatch launched with six-player teams before moving to five, mainly to improve queue times and address gameplay issues, and that Open Queue has been 6v6 for nearly two years, during which it's grown into the second most-played mode in Season 5, with Mystery Madness close behind.
Blizzard had held off on bringing back Role Queue for 6v6 because queue times could increase significantly, and while Keller admits the new mode may still have some impact, he says adding it rather than replacing an existing queue should be better overall, with matchmaking changes in Season 6 expected to help keep waits manageable.
Blizzard's surveys also found the community split pretty evenly between the two formats, with 32% of respondents on both sides standing fully behind their mode of choice, so it has no intention of moving the main mode to 6v6, but now thinks of it as "a second among equals".
What else is coming in Overwatch Season 6
Season 6 will also bring a new hero, whose full case file will be shown off during the OWCS Finals broadcast, while Mystery Madness is set to return in Season 1 2027 with a new theme, new powers and a few other enhancements.
It's been a long road back for 6v6 fans, as our earlier piece on Blizzard first revisiting 6v6 shows, and this is the closest the game has come to the original Overwatch setup in years.
Well, Keller signs off by asking players not to start requesting 7v7, which we suspect is exactly what someone on the forums is typing right now.
About The Author
Jake Bannister
Jake is GGRecon's Co-Founder and Operations Director. You'll find him covering our word game brain teasers, as well as sports games such as Football Manager and EA FC. He's also that teammate on your Rocket League team spamming "Wow!".
