Overwatch 2 to get Unranked Stadium game mode next season: “This is intended to be a more casual Stadium experience.”

Overwatch 2's Stadium game mode launched at the start of Season 16, and players have since been duking it out to climb up the different tiers. This is because Stadium has its own ranked system as the default. However, this will change soon. In a recent post, the game mode's development team revealed that the Unranked Stadium mode will arrive in Overwatch 2 Season 17.

According to the developers, Overwatch 2 Season 17 will feature lots of great Stadium content. This will include the Unranked Stadium game mode, which will allow players to queue up with friends of all skill tiers. Other notable features will be best-of-five (Bo5) matches as opposed to the current best-of-seven (Bo7) ones. This update will mean quicker matches with no mercy rule. Stadium Powers will also be given out in the first, third, fourth, and fifth rounds. As for the economy, players will be granted more cash.

"This is intended to be a more casual Stadium experience, great for learning the ropes or getting a few games in with friends," the post explained.

This addition of a casual Stadium option will mean more leavers, however. Thankfully, the developers will have a backfill system in place in Unranked Stadium. Players who happened to backfill for a team will be granted Stadium Cash and will be able to use it in the Armory before entering a match.

The developers also shared some insights about Overwatch 2 Stadium's matchmaking rating (MMR). When the game mode first launched, an internal modifier was applied to all Stadium players as opposed to just the new ones. This led to matchups with bigger skill gaps. Overwatch 2 Stadium's June 3 update will patch this out, however.

As for other Stadium updates, the developers increased the Ranked Skill Bonus for Pro, All-Star, and Legend players to make it easier to climb and earn the legendary All-Star Juno skin. Players now have until the end of Season 17 to earn this skin.

The developers also nerfed Freja yesterday and will introduce an anti-air Stadium Item to help counter her next season.

Finally, Stadium Forge will arrive in Overwatch 2 Season 17 to let players easily share their builds with others. To further help players, the game mode will feature more example builds in the future as well.

That's all for now. Are you excited for what's next in this game mode? Stick around on esports.gg for more Overwatch 2 news and updates.