Stadium Is a Hit: Here's What's Next for Overwatch's Wild New Mode

Overwatch launched a new game mode, Stadium, last week as part of its 16th season. After playing the mode ahead of launch for a week, I called it "the first thing that has felt truly new in the game since it came out." Well, it seems like players are enjoying the new taste. In a Director's Take blog post, Blizzard announced Thursday that, in the first week after its launch, about half of all the play hours in Overwatch were spent in Stadium. "While we often see a big spike in play time shortly after a sparkly new event launches, play time in Stadium has been a bit stickier," the game developer said. That's good news for a game facing stiffer competition since December, largely in the form of Marvel Rivals, which was a smash hit of a hero shooter right out of the gate. Earlier this year, Overwatch introduced a new perks system that provided more progression within each match, which at the time felt like a major change. While that shifted up gameplay for the game's core quick play and ... Read full article.