Here’s what to expect from the new Stadium Gadgets in Overwatch 2.
Overwatch 2 Season 19 is now live, but ahead of its release, esports.gg chatted with associate game director Alec Dawson about the new Stadium Gadgets. The interview also went into the narrative viewer and Haunted Masquerade game mode.
How Overwatch 2 Stadium Gadgets work
In Overwatch 2, Gadgets are active items in the Stadium game mode. Players can select one of them per game and unleash it with a hotkey. A few examples of these new items include Colossus Core, Kitsune Charm, and Jet Skates. In the interview with esports.gg, Dawson talked about how the team focused on integrating Gadgets into gameplay by thinking about hotkey limitations and positioning.
"I think Gadgets were really interesting. It's like, how do you fit it within actual Stadium gameplay? You know, they're taking up a new hotkey for you, you only have one at time -- how do you actually position it? [...] I think, at one point, they were free -- they're actually free slots for you and everything. So everyone's getting different abilities," Dawson said.
He continued, "But it can be very difficult for these things where [players have to determine if it was] a cleanse. Or was it like a revive? Or was it a sort of a speed boost or a knockback? [...] Because we want to make them feel rather general, but then also so that any hero can have them -- but also be pretty specific for the situation you're actually facing."
What Gadgets add to Overwatch 2 Stadium
Dawson shared that his favorite Stadium Gadget is Colossus Core as well. According to him, it allows a player to grow large, gain damage reduction, and more.
"My favorite, I think, is Colossal Core. I think that's one of the ones where you grow large, you get like a bunch of damage reduction, you're shining yellow -- I think you're gold. You actually see that in the trailer. And [for] some of the characters, that can be a very, very fun thing to do in a moment's notice. I think they add a layer of strategy and depth for your shop experience. That's a nice little wrinkle to Stadium's gameplay."
Although Dawson didn’t work on all the Gadgets directly, he praised system designer Larry Wu and the rest of the team for putting everything together.
Speaking of the team, senior systems designer Scott Hwang went over Gadgets in an official video. He revealed that there are 13 new ones. Like Dawson, his favorite one is Colossus Core.
More Overwatch 2 Stadium updates
In addition to Stadium Gadgets, Overwatch 2 Season 19 features an Ana rework in the game mode plus the arrival of Torbjorn, Hazard, and Sojourn.
"Ana can shoot her Sleep Dart through her rifle, which gains increased projectile speed, and then Sleep Dart can spawn a Biotic Grenade on impact," Hwang said. "And then, the Biotic Grenade can give Nano Boost to your allies. Lastly, Ana can give an ally increased attack speed and ultimate charge at the cost of her own ultimate charge."
That's all for now. Stick around on esports.gg for more Overwatch 2 news and updates.
