Overwatchhas been out for almost six years now, and has seen its fair share of updates over the years. The Blizzard development team still working onOverwatchhave released a constant stream of new features, cosmetics, and gameplay tweaks since the game’s original release on consoles and PC. The game often sees big events likethe current Lunar New Year event, in which players can unlock a range of new themed skins and cosmetics, as well as updates that add some challenges and lore tidbits to the game, along with updates that even add whole new playable characters.
But along with these updates,Overwatchreceives a constant supply of gameplay patches that are used to refine and tweak characters and their abilities, aiming to make the game more balanced. These are often implemented based on direct user feedback, and any changes that are made to the game are first tested in the game’s “PTR” mode. This PTR mode (Public Test Region) gives PC players the opportunity to try out the proposed changes, and give the developers feedback based on their first impressions. Beginning in February 2020,Overwatchhad a new PTR-style mode, called “Experimental.”
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What Is An Overwatch Experimental Card?
Put simply, theOverwatchExperimental mode offers temporary events called “Cards.” Each of these Cards offers a limited-time mode which allows the developers to drastically change the gameplay ofOverwatchin one form or another, with it having no bearing on the standard product. Both console and PC players can give an Experimental Card a go byheading to Custom Games, and applying the Experimental settings.
Overwatch’s Experimental Cards are similar to the game’s PTR mode, but they don’t adhere to the same strict rules. Experimental Cards can appear at a moment’s notice, and can be gone again in a flash. Abilities, damage, health, and even whole game modes can all be significantly changed in an Experimental Card, with it having no effect onthe game’s standard modes. Where the changes in the PTR mode are designed to be tweaked to perfection and eventually implemented in the overall game, the changes made in the Experimental Cards will likely never see the light of day again.
While most of the past Experimental Cards have focused on some more drastic hero balancing, there have been some more wild settings, such as February 2020’s triple damage setting, August 2020’s scaling down of damage and healing, and a fairly largerework of the Assault game mode. These Cards give long-time players some variety, shaking up the game’s formula a little.
The Most Recent Overwatch Experimental Cards
The most recentOverwatchExperimental Card landed in December 2021, and was a little different to the Experimental Cards that had come previously. As opposed to Blizzard making the changes, it was a selection of topOverwatchstreamers and Esports professionals, including Flats, Violet, and Somjuu.
The changes introduced by these creators were pretty drastic, with Tanks, DPS heroes, and Supports all receiving extreme buffs. ForTank classes, Zarya’s shield was buffed from 200 health to 250, and the size of each barrier was increased by a whopping 50%. On top of this, Zarya’s alt-fire had its knockback rate increased by 150%.
Some of Somjuu’s changes to the DPS heroes were also fairly significant, with Genji’s wall-climbing being 50% faster, Tracer being able to gain back her Blink ability following a Recall, and Cassidy being given the ability to roll when in midair. For the Support classes,Baptiste’s Regeneration fieldwas altered so that it damaged players rather than heal teammates, and Ana’s Sleep Dart could be refunded if she killed the target she hit with it.
Following an announcement byOverwatchLeague professional Jake Lyon on Jul 03, 2025, it looks as though another creator-led Experimental Card is on the way. Lyon, who will change up the game’s flex/projectile DPS heroes, is also being joined by the very popular streamer ml7, who will betaking the reins of the Support classes. While those in charge of the other classes are not known, it’s certain to be another wild and enjoyable Experimental Card.
Overwatchis available now on PC, PS4, Switch, and Xbox One.
