Will Hero Bans Be Introduced in Overwatch 2 Stadium?

Season 16 has been huge for Overwatch 2, not only adding the new hero Freja to the roster but also introducing the massive Stadium mode—essentially offering an entirely new way to experience the game. On top of that, hero bans finally debuted in Competitive mode this season, a long-requested feature. Now, fans are wondering if this important system might also make its way to Stadium. Here’s what we know so far.

Hero Bans Discussed For Overwatch 2 Stadium

There’s never been a better time to jump into Overwatch 2, with the Gundam Wing event running through Season 16, Freja’s arrival, and of course, the new Stadium mode. For those who have played (or played a lot) of Stadium, you know that while it’s an incredibly fun mode, some heroes can be quite tough to deal with.

This has led many players to request that the hero ban system, which was recently introduced to competitive mode, be added to Stadium as well (banning D.Va or Soldier would certainly be a welcome addition).

This concern was brought up during a recent Reddit AMA with the Blizzard team, and the responses were a bit bittersweet. Test Analyst Daniel Duffin specifically addressed this request, noting that, unfortunately, hero bans would be difficult to implement at this time due to the Stadium mode’s relatively small hero pool of just 17 characters.

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However, Blizzard didn’t completely dismiss the idea. Duffin made it clear that hero bans will be something they look into adding in the future, but not right now. He mentioned that when the hero pool expands, they will revisit the idea of incorporating hero bans into Stadium.

Adding to the discussion, Senior Systems Designer Connor Kou acknowledged the demand for the feature and agreed it would enhance the mode, stating, “It has a lot of interesting implications for team compositions and the meta. It is something we’re interested to explore!” So, players shouldn’t lose hope—hero bans may very well make their way to Stadium in the future.

For now, though, despite the absence of a ban system (which many players, myself included, feel is needed), Stadium remains a blast to play and has been a huge success since launch, bringing in massive player numbers for Overwatch 2 and Blizzard. As more heroes are added (I’m especially excited for Illari and Ramattra), it’s guaranteed that Stadium will evolve in both its features and balancing. Hero bans will likely be among the changes to come sooner rather than later.