Overwatch 2 Season 16’s hero bans feature was reportedly expedited due to competition from Marvel Rivals.
According to content creator Nathan “KarQ” Chan in one of his latest videos, Overwatch 2's upcoming hero bans feature, set to debut in Season 16, was expedited due to competition from Marvel Rivals.
Overwatch 2 gets hero bans soon thanks to Marvel Rivals
Overwatch 2 Season 16 launches on April 22, and in addition to the debut of the Stadium game mode, folks are anticipating the arrival of hero bans in Competitive Play. This new feature allows two hero bans per team, and, according to KarQ, Overwatch 2 hero bans were expedited due to Marvel Rivals.
"Hero bans are here, and just to clear the record, they have confirmed [it] while we were at the Overwatch Spotlight. And some of the devs talked on stream. Not an official announcement, but hero bans were a result of Marvel Rivals — of them expediting and producing a system," KarQ said.
Overwatch 2 hero bans reportedly took four to five months to develop, aligning with Marvel Rivals' release back in December 2024. KarQ called this one of the positive outcomes of healthy competition in the hero shooter space.
"This is one of the good [things] that competition has brought out in this game," he added.
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Marvel Rivals and Overwatch 2 hero bans
This appears to align with what Overwatch 2 game director Aaron Keller hinted at in a February 2025 interview. In it, he noted that Overwatch 2's hero bans feature had been a passion project for years. Hero bans were initially met with resistance due to concerns about restricting player choice as well. However, the feature was later added to the 2025 schedule.
"I'll probably get in trouble for saying this, but you see it come out in Marvel Rivals, you know? And you realize, those objections were valid, but they were given way too much credence," Keller said in the interview with GamesRadar. "So, it's much more obvious to us now. And while we were planning on doing it anyways, we do feel a lot better about its release."
That's all for now. Are you ready to test out the new hero bans feature in Season 16? Stick around on esports.gg for more Overwatch 2 news and updates.
