Ep. 035 – Overwatch 2 PVE Content Cancelled!

This episode was recorded on May 17th, 2023

In this episode we break down all the details and discuss what does this mean for Overwatch going forward. Will the game still exist?

Blizzard is dropping much of the PvE content development for Overwatch 2, much to the chagrin of the disappointed fans.

• Blizzard’s comments on the change:
  • “In a livestream(opens in new tab) accompanying the new Overwatch 2 roadmap, Blizzard confirmed that the original plans for a separate, distinct “hero mode” with open-ended progression and talent systems will now be replaced by regular “co-op gameplay and co-op experiences” baked into the live-service experience.”
  • Executive producer Jared Neuss said in a dev stream that “those things just aren’t in our plans anymore” because it’s clear that we can’t deliver on that original vision for PvE.”
  • “We made a commitment to always prioritize the live game and to all of the people playing it, and to devote all of our development efforts there,’ said Keller. ‘We want you to experience it more often and with more variety than we originally announced.”
  • “Game director Aaron Keller added that ‘the original vision for Overwatch 2’ was changed to ‘get something in front of players sooner.'”
• The original marketing for Overwatch 2 largely focused on promises of expansive PvE content, even touting rich RPG-like skill trees and open ended progression.
  • The PvE content was supposed to be the core reason for the development of Overwatch 2, Overwatch 2 was going to have a paid single player campaign with the multiplayer moving toward a Free-to-Play model. Similar to the way that Halo Infinite is structured.
  • The PvE content was not ready when Overwatch 2 released, and has been continually pushed further and further back on the timeline. This has caused some unrest with fans, who have complained that the multiplayer content has largely remained the same, that is, that multiplayer development has languished in favor of single player development that has yet to bear fruit.
  • Other than some new maps and characters, and the fact that the core gameplay has moved from 6v6 to 5v5, many fans are unhappy that Overwatch 2 multiplayer is largely the same as Overwatch 1, just with a FTP business model, and notably, no lootboxes.
• What does this mean?
  • As of right now, OW2 will remain free to play.
  • We are instead getting PvE stories and events, likely similar to how they were implemented in OW1.
  • The first major story-based event will “kick off a brand new story arc for Overwatch” sometime in 2023 as part of season 6. Keller also said they have “a lot more co-op features planned, some canon, and some very not canon.”
  • According to the roadmap, Overwatch 2’s next three seasons will introduce these new story-based PvE missions, as well as a brand-new support hero, a new tank hero, reworks for Sombra and Roadhog, a new limited-time event called Questwatch, and more.

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