Overwatch 2 adds October 2020 patch, but it may be too late

If there’s one thing that Overwatch players complain about, it’s that they miss the way the game used to be. No matter what Blizzard does, players will just bring up how it was back in 2020. Well, here’s your chance: the Overwatch Classic game mode is here.

As part of the ongoing Overwatch Anniversary 2025 event, players can relive the glory days of 6v6 OG Overwatch from October 7th to October 14th.

What are the Overwatch Classic October 2020 patch notes?

The Overwatch Classic mode is meant to bring players back to how it used to be five years ago. Back in the original Overwatch when we had teams of six, including two tanks.

Beyond just having the classic team compositions, the Overwatch Classic 2020 patch also returns heroes to how they played back in the day. This means their kits have been reverted and some heroes have even gone back to their original roles, like Doomfist being DPS.

The point? Bring back the October 2020 meta. This is considered the most balanced version of the game in its entire history. The game felt pretty balanced, forcing players to make smart decisions or face punishment, and everyone on the team felt like they had a purpose.

Of course, there was that double-barrier meta to deal with, but there are counters.

Said one passionate player: “Far more fun than current OW2 IMO. I preferred when everybody actually felt killable instead of Rein being able to charge into a 5-man team and still somehow live. A mistake like that was entirely catastrophic even in lower ELO Solo Q; now, Orisa and Rein just straight W key and never die.

“As well, harder CC was in the game more commonly, so bad positioning and bad mistakes were punished better. Reaper couldn’t just always go into a full team and ult with no real counter other than very specific characters; more characters could prevent that from happening.”

So let’s see if Overwatch players actually step up and play the game mode. You loved 2020 so much? Here it is.

I don’t doubt that Overwatch players miss that time back in 2020. I do. The game felt more alive, engaging, and strategic, and the community was more passionate. That was back when the Overwatch League was going strong, and the game felt exciting, chaotic, and inspiring.

The issue is that gamers don’t really have that kind of patience to re-download Overwatch 2, update it for a while, and jump into a temporary game mode. At this point, they’ve already moved on.

My colleague once wrote that Fortnite is the “comeback kid” of competitive multiplayer. Basically, its fanbase never really ditches the game entirely. Meanwhile, other games feel strained. Overwatch 2 keeps adding heroes and maps, but it feels like it’s trying to win people back more than improve on the formula.

I’m not sure if the Overwatch 2020 players are still around.