“Freeze! Don’t move!” Here’s what to expect and how to win this year’s edition of Freezethaw Elimination.
Overwatch 2's Winter Wonderland shenanigans have returned with the Freezethaw Elimination game mode. What's different about the 2025 edition of Freezethaw Elimination is the arrival of new heroes to the roster. This means folks can play as Vendetta, Wuyang, and even Freja, who joined Overwatch 2 this year!
Overwatch 2 Freezethaw Elimination: How it works
In Overwatch 2, Freezethaw Elimination is a four-versus-four (4v4) game mode where players must eliminate and thaw each other. It's basically Overwatch 2's version of freeze tag. The first team to win three rounds claims match victory.
Before a match starts, you must select a hero and do your best to help your teammates eliminate the entire enemy team. The Winter Wonderland 2025 edition of this game mode lets you select Vendetta, who just joined the Overwatch 2 roster. It also lets you choose heroes like Wuyang and Freja, who joined earlier this year as well.
Overwatch 2 Freezethaw Elimination tips and tricks
Remember that whenever you win a round in Freezethaw Elimination, you cannot use your winning hero in any more consecutive rounds. Therefore, you can strategize a bit in terms of hero counters and figuring out which heroes are generally great in this limited-time game mode. Moira, for example, can use her orbs to heal and dish out damage in enclosed areas like in our screenshot below. Heroes that take to the air like Echo, Pharah, and Freja are also quite useful.
If one of your teammates gets eliminated, then you can unfreeze them by going up to them and holding the "F" key. Just be aware of your surroundings in case there's a Widowmaker in the distance just waiting for another headshot, for example.
Speaking of surroundings, Freezethaw Elimination takes place in different maps such as Antarctica, Necropolis, Castillo, Black Forest, and Ayutthaya. If the map you happen to roll has cliffs, for example, then selecting heroes like Pharah or Junkrat can displace enemies more easily. They might even fall off the map.
Finally, if you eliminate an enemy player, then one of their teammates may flock to them in an attempt to unfreeze them. Therefore, you can camp frozen enemies to make everything much more difficult and essentially snowball your way to victory.
After finishing up a match, you gain progress toward the Overwatch 2 Winter Wonderland 2025 event challenges. Completing these challenges results in Winter Wonderland Cookies, which can be used to redeem skins, loot boxes, and many more holiday-themed items.
That's all for now. We hope you enjoy the Winter Wonderland 2025 edition of Freezethaw Elimination. Stick around on esports.gg for more Overwatch 2 news, guides, and updates!
