Fighting in the Colosseo is brutal.[1] It hosts robotic gladiatorial combat (via robots) and the Circuit Maximus,[2] though Vendetta is at least one known case where a human has been allowed to participate directly, battling against non-sentient omnics.[1] The Colosseo is a cultural touchstone for Italy, and provides and a sense of cultural pride.[3]
Tactics
Widowmaker and Ana can provide long range support on the early stages of the game.
D.VA, Baptiste, Pharah, Winston, Genji can double jump to reach the bridges at the final area.
Areas are small but crowded and can get AOE advantage for combos.
Bridges has stairs that can be easy access but harder when it became a forward spawn point.
Trivia
During the map's gameplay, the sounds of a Colosseum match can be heard. This is possibly the match between Maximus and Zephyrus.
Rather than inside the Colosseum itself, the gameplay takes place on the buildings and temples surrounding area.
It is indicated that the Colosseo's gladiators have story elements within their matches. I.e. a gladiator may be designated a villain in a given context.[1]
Cultural References
The map's name is Italian for the real-world Colosseum.
Similarly, the Galleria Imperiale spawn room seems to be based on the real-life Pantheon. The Domus Aurea hotel near the opposite spawn room is most likely named after the real-life Domus Aurea.
Development
The map was initially named "Rome" when it was first announced at BlizzConline. By March, 2022, it had been changed to "Colosseo." The map first became playable in the Overwatch 2 beta.[4]
The glass was removed and stairs were added around TS-1 starting location for additional pathing and combat opportunities.
The map was extended with a new lowered section and mega health pack behind the second checkpoint for flank/rotational strategies
A route was added through a building that connects spawn/final point to second checkpoint.
The initial spawn building were pulled back to give players more room to smoothly navigate the area out front. There is no added run back time with this change.
The stairs and cover surrounding the final point were adjusted to improve the flow of the space and to help teams safely defend the final point.
