That players sometimes lose interest in Overwatch happens from time to time. However, they often come back. Overwatch chief Jeff Kaplan explains in an interview what Overwatch is doing to ensure that this remains the case.
What to do when Overwatch becomes boring? Surely it has happened to you that Overwatch was left aside for a while or even uninstalled. However, the developers are doing many things to win you back.
Overwatch should remain exciting
It is normal for players to leave: Jeff Kaplan from the Overwatch team talked in an interview with the US site Kotaku about why players stop playing Overwatch and how to bring them back.
Through new features like Recognition and Group Search or the upcoming Spectator Mode, interest should be maintained. According to Kaplan, it is also quite normal for players to stop playing Overwatch temporarily:
I always think about what kind of game Overwatch is: a competitive 6v6 action shooter. It is the kind of game where players come and go. I think that is natural. It is good for the players and it is good for us when players do not get lost and only play Overwatch.
Only when players stop playing Overwatch for an indefinite time or even permanently do alarm bells ring for Kaplan. The team keeps such situations “on the radar” and wonders what it can do better.
What to do when players leave? If players permanently stop playing Overwatch, the team first asks itself some questions:
- Have we not introduced any new heroes?
- Have we not introduced any new maps?
- What about a new game mode?
If the answer to any of these questions is “No”, then the team prepares to work on it. In some situations, it is also just natural for fans to stay away for a while, as with new games. Kaplan:
I think players sometimes panic when they hear “Oh, all my friends are playing Call of Duty this month,” or something like that. That is OK. Call of Duty is brand new and it’s great. We play it too. And then we come back and do our placements in Overwatch.
Criticism must be taken seriously: According to Kaplan, an important point is that the team also pays attention to criticism. During the development of the new hero Ashe, this was one of the reasons she became the hero she is.
The community often complained that the current heroes play too much with crowd control and that this robs the game of fun. This has been particularly the case since the release of Brigitte.
After their own review, the team agrees with the criticism and is careful not to let it get worse. There will not be major reworks on heroes for this reason, as these could have other impacts.
Instead, Overwatch heroes like Doomfist will be adjusted, which contribute to this problem. When developing new content, like with Ashe, care will be taken to ensure that it does not also become part of the problem.
The “aces up your sleeve”: The Overwatch team has focused heavily on improving balance and bringing in new content this year.
Recurring events like the recently ended Halloween Horror or the upcoming Winter Wonderland have gone a bit unnoticed. Some fans have complained about this, as events are a reason for many to check back into Overwatch.
However, Kaplan advises players to look forward to the upcoming event. Some “pretty cool” things are coming:
We have a few aces up our sleeve for next year, and I think they are pretty cool. When they come, players will say: “Oh, now I understand what you did.” We just try not to talk too early about such things.
What do you think? Do you also take breaks and then come back to Overwatch? If you’re looking for teammates, check out our Overwatch group and visit us on Facebook for the latest updates on Overwatch.
Perhaps a mobile implementation for Overwatch is on the horizon. Blizzard is currently working on “many mobile titles simultaneously.”
