Blizzard Entertainment has unveiled its roadmap for Overwatch 2's Stadium mode through 2025, detailing exciting additions planned for Season 17, Season 18, Season 19, and beyond. In a comprehensive Director’s Take blog post, game director Aaron Keller shares insights into the mode’s past, present, and future, providing a surprise summer roadmap shortly after Stadium's launch.

The rollout of Stadium continues with the addition of the new Damage hero, Freja, in a mid-season patch for Season 16. However, Season 17 in June marks a significant expansion with the inclusion of Junkrat, Sigma, and Zenyatta. Alongside these heroes, the Esperança Push map and Samoa Control map will be introduced, enhancing the strategic depth of the mode.

Blizzard plans to enrich the Stadium experience further during Season 17 by introducing features such as Unranked Crossplay, new all-star rewards, custom games, example builds, and the ability to save and share builds. It's not yet clear whether all these additions will be available at the start of the season or rolled out throughout.

In Season 18, players can look forward to the addition of Winston, Sojourn, and Brigitte as playable characters. The Route 66 and London maps will join the rotation, and a new Payload Race game mode will debut with two new maps. A Stadium trials feature and the option to Endorse teammates will also be introduced.

Blizzard's roadmap for Stadium extends into Season 19 and beyond, promising multiple new heroes, including both existing and unrevealed characters. A new China map, a Draft Mode feature, consumables, and item system tweaks are among the exciting updates planned.

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

How has Stadium Performed so Far?

The Overwatch 2 team has shared impressive stats for Stadium, revealing it has become the game's most played mode. During its launch week, Stadium saw 2.3 million matches played across 7.8 million hours, significantly outpacing Quick Play and Competitive modes. This performance is more than double that of Overwatch Classic’s launch week.

Notable statistics include Lucio being the hero with both the highest win rate and the lowest pick rate, and players spending 900 billion Stadium Cash on 206 million item choices for their builds.

Keller's Director’s Take also addresses the development timeline of Stadium, confirming it was in the works before Overwatch 2 launched. This clarification aims to dispel fan theories that Stadium was developed in response to Marvel Rivals, which debuted in December 2024.

Keller emphasizes Blizzard's ongoing commitment to transparent communication, promising more insights into Stadium next week. He assures players that while Stadium has become a popular addition, Blizzard remains dedicated to maintaining and enhancing the core Quick Play and Competitive modes.

“Before signing off, I'd like to reiterate the team’s commitment to the Core modes of Overwatch," Keller stated. "We’re still pouring as much time, energy, and passion into these as we always have. Stadium isn't competing for those resources: it’s giving us more opportunities to deliver Overwatch in a new, exciting way.

"We can't wait for you to see what's coming there, especially Season 18. It's going to be a banger! Have fun with Stadium and, as always, let’s make a great game.”

Overwatch 2 introduced Stadium with the launch of Season 16, part of Blizzard's efforts to reinvigorate its player base. This initiative started with an all-encompassing Spotlight presentation in February, leading to the return of loot boxes and an improved Steam rating, which some fans consider the best Overwatch experience in years.

While we await further updates, you can explore our guide to learn more about how Stadium works and check out our recommendations for the best Tank Builds, DPS Builds, and Support Builds.