Hero Pools are coming to competitive Overwatch

In the latest Developer Update, Game Director Jeff Kaplan has revealed Experimental Card and Hero Pools will be coming soon to Overwatch.

In an attempt to speed up the process from the Public Test Region to the main servers, the Experimental Card will be added alongside the main cards found in the game such as Quick Play and the Game Browser.

Future Experimental Card variants might bring hero balance or game mode adjustments when there is something worth testing. As it will be in the main game, levelling up and rewards will still be active and available to gain through the Experimental Card options.

Season 21 of Competitive Play in March will mark the first time Hero Pools are brought into the game. For one week at a time, some heroes will not be included in the pool in order to vary the meta and prevent staleness.

Quick Play and Arcade modes will be unaffected by this Hero Pool change, but it is not clear if this will eventually move into the casual modes.

The Overwatch League will have its own Hero Pool, with a blog expected soon to explain its stance and the difference between competitive Overwatch Hero Pools and OWL Hero Pools.

With a substantial talent exodus and a new deal with YouTube Gaming throwing the title in with fellow Activision Blizzard title Call of Duty and its League, there are numerous questions that will need to be addressed ahead of the opening 2020 Season matches.

Other games like League of Legends and Brawlhalla use a similar system in reverse, offering a set group of champions for free each week to allow players to test them out before comitting to unlocking them. If Overwatch were to go free-to-play, this might

Further upcoming features and changes revealed in the Developer Update include Replays being able to be pinned and shared and Career Profiles will be refreshed before a more in-depth rework in the not-too-distant future.

Overwatch 2 was announced last year but no release date or price for the 'sequel' has been given from Blizzard nor leaked yet.