Overwatch: Classic is a limited-time event that brings back the 2016 game and promises to re-capture its charm.

It's like all the most popular shooters have decided to bring back nostalgia. Fortnite brought its original map back last year. Apex Legends does the same thing now. And tomorrow, Overwatch will bring time back in its own throwback.

Blizzard calls this Overwatch: Classic. It is a limited time mode in Overwatch 2 which will try to recreate the original Overwatch as it was when it first launched. It won't exactly be a remake, as the maps, UI and sound effects in Overwatch 2 will remain, but the heroes will play just like they did eight year ago: D.Va will be taken out by her exploding mech, Torbjorn can give out armor packs and Mercy will be able to revive her entire team all at once.

In an interview with PC Gamer, Alec Dawson, lead gameplay designer, said: "We want the charm of playing Overwatch at launch." Other words, teams of six Symmetras frying enemies with a wall or laser turrets while Hanzo's Scatter Arrow is used to eliminate people in a corner. Dawson said that the game can be chaotic, but I think this is what makes it so special.

Overwatch: Classic will run until the 2nd of December and will also return to its original 6v6 format. Teams can have as many heroes as they want from each role. For the "first few days," there will be no limit on how many people can play the same hero. The team compositions will be just as chaotic as in 2016.
Overwatch: Classic will not be included in Blizzard’s 6v6 tests, despite the fact that it is returning to larger team sizes. These experimental modes will focus more on gathering feedback about hero balance and waiting times. The development team will continue to collect data and listen to how players react when there are more players in the match.

Aaron Keller, the game director, said: "I believe that when players ask for 6v6, they are asking for something else than Classic." "At the exact same time, it will be the first format that we release that is 6v6, which is a great test for our engine."

The announcement post states that Overwatch: Classic is a regular event, which will "feature heroes from popular moments in game history" but Dawson and Keller said the next one was still uncertain. Dawson said that it all depends on whether players embrace Classic. We could see the return of old metas like the 'Goats meta' from 2018, or reworked snapshots like a mode where every hero is in their most powerful state. Dawson said that the team is working on "a few modes that could be either very exciting or terrifying for players."

Overwatch players want goofy modes to shed some of the sequel’s hyper-competitive character design. Junkenstein's Laboratory is a mode that allows you to equip talents which alter the way hero abilities function. Keller stated that "roughly 35% of [the hours] [spent] on Overwatch the day it was launched" were spent in Junkenstein’s Laboratory. Blizzard released a balance patch and kept the game around for an additional week.

Dawson said, "We want to ensure that players who love Overwatch and our heroes have something that is a little less stressful, that is a little less locked in."

Overwatch: Classic will be available on Tuesday, November 12th.