Overwatch 2’s 17th season is coming soon and with it a long list of updates to the game’s recently launched Stadium mode. But players of core modes of Overwatch 2 — namely Quick Play and Competitive — also have a lot to look forward to in the game’s new season.
Of course, there’s the usual batch of cosmetics, including two new Mythic-tier skins, a new battle pass, and a fresh a limited-time 6v6 mode called Hacks & Hijinx to spice things up.
Overwatch 2 season 17 launches on Tuesday, June 24. Here’s what players can expect.
Stadium Updates
Three more Overwatch heroes are joining the Stadium roster in season 17: Junkrat, Sigma, and Zenyatta. Blizzard hasn’t revealed the full Stadium powers and upgrade kits for each character, but screenshots revealed thus far hint at some fun new powers. It looks like Junkrat can deploy his Total Mayhem bombs when launching off a Concussion Mine; Sigma can have a quartet of orbiting Hyperspheres; and Zenyatta can debuff his opponents when using his ultimate, Transcendance.
New maps are also coming to Stadium. Mode-specific versions of Push map Esperança and Control map Samoa are inbound.
Additionally, Blizzard will add a new feature called Stadium Forge, which it describes as a “a create/save/share system to test and refine your team comps like a pro, which will include early and late game example loadouts for every Hero.” Season 17 will also see a Stadium rank reset, new Drives, custom games, and updated All-Star rank rewards.
New maps and map voting
In addition to Esperança and Samoa for Stadium, Blizzard is adding a new Flashpoint map to core modes: Aatlis. Set in Morocco, Aatlis features “lush gardens [and] luxury resort spaces,” and is built for “tighter fights, cleaner rotations, and fast paced momentum,” Blizzard says.
And similar to the introduction of hero bans in season 16, Blizzard is giving players more choice over which maps they play on in Quick Play and Competitive modes. Here’s how map voting will work, according to Blizzard:
After role queue locks, you’ll get three randomized map options to choose from. Every vote adds a 1-in-10 chance to that map’s odds, and the winner is selected using a roulette style roll. To keep things chill, team chat, battle tags, and individual votes are hidden, so there’s no pressure—just a better chance at playing on maps you love. And leaver penalties kick in as soon as voting starts, so stick around and make it count.
Season 17 battle pass and cosmetics
Season 17 of Overwatch 2 has two main aesthetic themes: 8-bit and Overwatch Academy. Through the game’s premium battle pass, players will unlock 8-bit Reinhardt, Genji, and Sombra, as well as Sakura Ana, Delinquent Cole Cassidy, and Professor Fawkes Junkrat. The game’s ultimate battle pass also includes Principal Lacroix Widowmaker and Professor de Kuiper Sigma.
Two Mythics will also be available at the season’s launch — as opposed to staggered, like previous seasons — including the Mythic Horang D.Va Hero Skin and Mythic Steel Death Reaper Weapon Skin. For a more in-depth look at this season’s skins, and what’s coming to the cosmetic shop, check out this post with more images.
Events
Season 17 will kick off with the Powered Up event, which runs June 24-30. If players complete 17 matches across Quick Play, Competitive, or Stadium, they’ll earn four Epic-tier loot boxes.
In July, Blizzard will introduce a new mode, Hacks & Hijinx. It’s a limited-time 6v6 mode with match modifiers that cycle every round. Here’s how Blizzard describes Hacks & Hijinx, which is playable exclusively on Overwatch 2’s Control maps.
You might find yourself floating in low gravity, chasing down health packs that charge your Ultimate, or reacting to entirely new mechanics that break the rules in the best way. Each round forces new strategies and quick thinking, so if you’re looking for pure chaos, remixed gameplay, and moments that make you say, “what just happened…” we’ve got you.
Overwatch 2 x G.I. Joe
Blizzard’s trailer for Overwatch 2 season 17 teases two upcoming collaborations: one with Nerf and one with G.I. Joe. Since both properties are owned by Hasbro, and Blizzard previously collabed with the toymaker for a Transformers-themed event, that makes sense. So expect to dress up Genji as G.I. Joe ninja Snake Eyes at some point in season 17.
Overwatch 2 season 17 starts June 24, at 2 p.m. EDT/11 a.m. PDT, and is expected to run through Aug. 26.