Blizzard has officially stated that the planned PvE experiences in Overwatch 2 will not be happening, leaving some long-awaited features behind. Overwatch 2 was revealed to the public during BlizzCon in 2019. With the original Overwatch still going well and receiving patches, the sequel needed to shake things up.
Blizzard surprised fans with wonderfully animated cinematic teasers depicting an emotional story centered on the Overwatch cast. This was the formal reveal of Overwatch 2, and the gameplay presented centered on the PvE experience that Blizzard was working on to advance the IP.
As the very first impressions of Overwatch 2’s PvE gameplay, Blizzard introduced Story Missions and Hero Missions. These game modes appeared to be the title’s main selling point. After this announcement, the first Overwatch would be available for a few years until Overwatch 2 entered an exclusive alpha phase in 2022.
Because this alpha was limited to pro gamers and other key persons, it seems reasonable that it only included Overwatch 2’s PvP component. Two further betas would be held before the game’s release the same year that Blizzard said it would “decouple” the game’s PvP and PvE components, letting the PvP betas continue while the PvE component was being worked on.
When Overwatch 2 was released, it simply replaced the original as an update, introducing changes to the PvP concept fans appreciated in the first game.
Fans continued to play the new title’s PvP as before but were looking forward to the promised single-player options that followed the sequel’s introduction and marketing. In a developer update discussing the game’s 2023 timeline, the devs indicated that Overwatch’s two PvE features would be scaled back and would not emerge as players were previously promised.
Regardless of the sorrow and explanation for the choice to focus on PvP, players have been devastated by the loss of what appeared to be Overwatch’s richest content yet. The PvE experience was envisioned as having two game modes: Story Experience and Hero Mode. While these modes are no longer available, they had depth and were intended to provide their own distinct set of features.
Overwatch 2 is available now for PC, PS4, PS5, Switch, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
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