With Overwatch's Anniversary event having brought about the addition of three new Arena maps and a 3v3 Lockout Elimination Arcade Mode alongside some other well-received changes, fans have been enjoying the additions so much that they hope Blizzard will eventually make a competitive version of the new mode. As it so happens, one player posted on the Battle.net forums to ask the publisher and developer for just that, prompting the game director Jeff Kaplan to respond and admit that the company is currently considering it as an option.
According to Kaplan, "It's still a little early to tell if the mode is stable and balanced enough to host a competitive version." Nevertheless, the Overwatch game director stated that the team is "keeping a really close eye on it" and playing it for itself in order to determine whether or not a ranked iteration for 3v3 Lockout will be viable in the long run, which further intimates that competitive 3v3 could be in the works.
For those unaware of the Anniversary event's addition of 3v3 Lockout, the Overwatch mode works similarly to the typical 3v3 Elimination with the only difference being that once a team wins a round, they cannot use the same heroes with whom they've won. The mode forces teammates to alter the arrangement of characters and strategies in order to win the best-of-five rounds instead of having them rigidly stick to the same three heroes the players used before. No doubt, the way that the mode forces fans into such dynamism and variety has been the cause of its popularity, as it indicates who truly is the best at adapting to the game's ethos of team-based tactics rather than remaining in one's comfort zone.
Should Blizzard eventually go on to implement a competitive 3v3 Lockout mode, it will be Overwatch's first addition to its competitive modes beyond the typical 6v6 format. As of now, these are primarily divided in between payload and point-capture modes, or an amalgamation of both, of which will likely be the standard for Overwatch's own official eSports league.
Of course, if Blizzard truly intends to add a competitive 3v3 Lockout mode in the future, there's no telling precisely when it would come about. After all, the company has plenty of other irons in the fire at the moment, as it's developing fresh content in the form of animated shorts, potential new maps, and it even has a new hero "on the horizon."
Overwatch is available now for PC, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One.
Source: Battle.net