[Update #2]: Overwatch 2's PvP mode will be 5v5 with only one tank per team!

[Update]: Overwatch's new Game Director Aaron Keller will be revealing some juicy Overwatch 2 PvP details on May 20, 2021!

Out of all the game modes in Overwatch, Assault (Hanamura, Temple of Anubis) is by far the least popular, and for good reason. Attacking on these maps can feel incredibly frustrating as you're marching through tiny chokes into a hailstorm of gunfire, over and over again until something finally breaks. But even then victory isn't guaranteed as highly mobile heroes like Wrecking Ball can repeatedly run back to the point in order to burn down the timer, thus making the whole ordeal even more tedious.

Things aren't much better if you're on the defensive side. The first point is designed in such a way that you're almost guaranteed to lose it since it takes you around 30 seconds to come back from spawn, while the second point requires constant vigilance as even a single mistake can result in a steamroll and a lost match. So while the maps themselves are beautiful, Assault as a game mode tends to be far more stressful than any of its counterparts, hence why two of its maps (Horizon Lunar Colony and Paris) are still banned from Competitive Play.

After hearing these types of complaints for years at this point, Blizzard has finally decided to do something about it in Overwatch 2. In a bit of a shocking twist, they won't be trying to rework these maps or tweak the rules of the Assault game mode, but will instead be removing it entirely!

Naturally, this doesn't mean that all of the team's work on these maps will go to waste. Thanks to Overwatch 2's PvE focus it's almost guaranteed that all of them will be used as settings for various missions, so if you're a fan of these locations worry not as you'll likely still be seeing them on a frequent basis. It's also possible Blizzard might reshape them to support the upcoming Push game mode, which so far seems like it'll be a blast to play.

Whatever the case may be, I'll make sure to let you know once Blizzard releases more details. Sadly, that will likely take a fair bit of time as Overwatch 2 will not be releasing this year.

Until then, however, I'll leave you with the "Behind the Scenes" presentation from the recent BlizzCon Online. Enjoy!