The first Overwatch 2 Spotlight has revealed what new content is coming to the game in 2025, and if you were advocating for change in the game, you are definitely getting it. Over the course of this year, Overwatch 2 in 2025 will add hero bans, map voting, perks, a new significant mode called Stadium, and even loot boxes are making a return. This is, of course, on top of all the regular new heroes, maps, and mythic skins you can expect from the game. Here is a quick rundown of everything we saw, with links to some bigger topic articles if you want to know more!
Perks in Season 15
Alongside the start of Season 15 next week, all heroes in Overwatch 2 will have two sets of unique perks in Quick and Competitive play. As you play a match, you will be able to choose one minor and one major perk, which will affect how your character performs for the rest of that match. For a more detailed breakdown of how perks affect the game, see our Overwatch 2 Perks Explained article.
Stadium in Season 16
A permanent new major mode will be added alongside Quick and Competitive play when Season 16 starts in April. Stadium is a new ranked experience where two teams of five face off in a best of seven series. The better you perform, the more currency you earn to spend on upgrades for your character that will affect gameplay significantly. This mode is entirely played in third person. For more, see our Overwatch 2 Stadium Mode Explained article.
New Heroes
2025 is also bringing new Overwatch 2 heroes into the mix, and we now know the first two. In Season 16, Freja will be added to the damage role. She wields a crossbow that shoots explosive bolts and her ultimate fires out bolas that trap a hit enemy and then drag other enemies in as well, dealing explosive damage. Her abilities are movement based, letting her dash away horizontally, or use an updraft of wind for vertical movement. A trial weekend where you can play Freja will happen in Season 15.
As for the Season 18 hero, currently called Aqua, we don’t know much about him yet outside of his concept art and that he will have water-based abilities. We imagine that this will be a new support hero.
Loot Boxes
Starting in Season 15, loot boxes are once again returning to Overwatch, but they have been slightly altered to fit into today’s version of the game. First, you can not purchase loot boxes with Overwatch Coins or real money, so there is now a completely viable way to earn new cosmetics without spending. They are only obtainable in weekly and event challenges or the battle pass (one in free battle pass, two more in premium battle pass).
Like in the past, every loot box you open will have four items in it, from common to legendary quality. Mythic items are still exclusive to the mythic store, and any items that are premiered during a season either in the battle pass or the store will not be in loot boxes until that season ends. When the next season begins, you have a chance to earn those items in loot boxes.
The system is built to avoid duplicates. If you open a loot box that has an item you already own, the box will re-roll that item until it gets something new for you at the same rarity. If you happen to own everything in the game at that moment, you will be given an “I Owe You” credit towards another loot box when new content has been added to the store.
What else was shown at Overwatch 2 Spotlight 2025?
Here is a list of more items shown at Overwatch 2 Spotlight 2025, as well as a roadmap of the incoming content.
- When Season 15 hits its midseason update, 6v6 Competitive will make its debut in Overwatch 2.
- Galactic weapons are the new competitive weapon skin rewards this year, replacing jade. Portraits and charms will also be available.
- Overwatch Classic will revive the GOATS meta at the Season 15 midseason update. This was a time in the original Overwatch that changed the course of the game forever because of Brigitte’s strength alongside tanks.
- More collaborations are on the way, with Le Sserafim skins returning for a second time in Season 15.
- As of Season 16, hero bans will be implemented into Competitive. This feature has been highly discussed for years, but we don’t know the exact details on how many heroes will be banned per game yet.
- Further down the line, map voting will also be added into Competitive, allowing participants to choose their battleground.
- Mythic skins:
- Season 15 – Zenyatta hero skin, Widowmaker weapon skin
- Season 16 – Juno hero skin, Mercy weapon skin
- Season 17 – D.Va hero skin, Reaper weapon skin
