Overwatch 2 has broken its biggest promise. The PvE mode has been canceled and will not appear. The fans are extremely angry.
At first glance, it reads like a late and very bad April Fool’s joke. When Overwatch 2 was announced nearly 4 years ago, the big “selling point” was the PvE mode that was supposed to come. Heroes were supposed to level up, unlock new abilities, and do this in a long, cooperative campaign.
But that dream is dead. In a dev update, it was announced almost “in passing”: The PvE mode with character progression is history. No further work is being done on it.
When Kiriko was released, everything seemed fine:
What exactly was said? Jared Neuss, the executive producer of Overwatch 2, explained in the dev talk video how the decision came about. According to him, they no longer want to withhold content in Overwatch 2 for a long time and also underestimated how many resources it takes to keep Overwatch 2 supplied with new content.
With everything we have learned about what it takes to keep this live game running, with what you deserve, we have realized that we cannot deliver the original version for the PvE that we showed in 2019. What this means is the following: We will not have this hero mode, with talent trees and long-term progression… these things are no longer in our plans.
We know that this will be disappointing for many of you, which is why we wanted to mention it before talking about the roadmap. And to be honest, this has been very hard for many of us as well. Many on the team have poured their hearts and souls into these things over the past years.
What comes instead? However, Overwatch fans do not have to go completely without PvE content. Although this may only be a weak consolation, Overwatch 2 has released a pretty packed roadmap that promises many PvE contents like “story missions” and new events.
Particularly, season 6 is supposed to be the “biggest Overwatch release yet” – there will be story missions in it, but also hero challenges for solo players, the new game mode “Flashpoint”, and a new support hero. In addition, there is supposed to be an improved system for player progression. You can view the roadmap here:
This is the community’s reaction: Devastatingly negative. Many feel betrayed and cheated. Whether in the game’s subreddit or in the comments on YouTube, there are fierce insults directed at the developers or Blizzard in general. A few (not too harsh) opinions from the community:
Incredible. PvE was the SOLE REASON why Overwatch 2 even exists, that was the thing it was advertised with. We wanted a campaign, a story, that we could dive into; these skill trees looked fantastic. I can’t believe all these promises are being broken for some live-service game nonsense for PvP that nobody wanted. I am thoroughly disappointed and from now on, I just don’t care anymore.
gavo7911 on YouTube
Hotpotato481 summarizes the feelings of many fans:
This is not disappointing. This. Is. Devastating.
I don’t understand how a company that built its reputation by creating some of the most beloved stories ever, especially PvE experiences with some multiplayer elements, can now just drop a PvE vision like it no longer knows how to build a skill tree. You captured the fascination of so many people who fell in love with your game world. You were on the verge of finding ways to give us a taste of that larger world.
You literally had lightning in a bottle with Overwatch.
You not only shattered the glass, but also poisoned the ocean and killed the fish.
Demzicrisi6943 says:
Only Blizzard would ask itself, “Should we stick with the thing that makes our game unique and special?” And only Blizzard would answer itself “No!”.
What do you think about this? Can you cope with it and still play Overwatch 2? Or is the game dead for you now?
