Overwatch 2 has officially restored mirror matches in Competitive Stadium after the gaming community expressed strong dissatisfaction with their initial removal. The controversial restriction, which was implemented at the start of Season 18, has now been permanently eliminated from the ranked Stadium mode following overwhelming player feedback.

Season 18 launched on August 26 with substantial updates to Overwatch 2's gameplay experience. The Stadium mode received particularly significant attention, gaining three new heroes, the Payload Race game mode, and an unranked Quick Play option featuring crossplay functionality. The Competitive Stadium also introduced the Hero Draft system, which initially prevented players from selecting heroes already chosen by the opposing team.

While the Hero Draft mechanic gained popularity among players, the simultaneous ban on mirror matches proved unpopular. The gaming community voiced their concerns across various forums and social media platforms, leading to a response from Overwatch 2 game director Aaron Keller. In a recent Twitter announcement, Keller confirmed that the mirrored hero restriction has been officially removed from Competitive Stadium Hero Draft, with no current plans for its return.

Keller elaborated that while Overwatch 2 enjoys implementing popular new features like the Stadium mode itself, ambitious changes sometimes don't achieve their intended impact. He committed to adapting and iterating quickly when such situations arise. Given that mirror matches were restored just two days after the initial update, players have substantial reason to trust the development team's responsiveness to community feedback.

The primary challenge with the mirror match prohibition stemmed from Stadium's limited hero roster. With only 24 heroes available in Season 18—just over half of the standard roster—the requirement for unique hero selections created significant constraints. This limitation might become more manageable as the Stadium hero pool expands, though given the strong player reaction, it remains uncertain whether Overwatch 2 will attempt similar restrictions in the future.