What Do We Know About Overwatch 2

Overwatch fans have been grumbling about the game’s stagnation in recent years, with few really major updates to shake up the formula. Overwatch 2, the hotly-anticipated expansion-slash-sequel, promises to get the hero shooter back on track with new features and content across the board. Its development has suffered from delays, with the latest one meaning that it will not come out before 2022. Nevertheless, following this year’s BlizzConline event, we have a better idea of what to expect when its release date finally arrives.

Player versus Environment

Two new PvE modes promise a vastly different experience from anything seen in the game so far, with the partial exception of Arcade’s Archives modes. The Story Missions make up an exciting co-op campaign that pits various heroes against the robot army known as Null Sector. While those opponents have been previously encountered in the Uprising event, their new versions will have superior AI and more variety. To counter them, characters will be able to pick up items like grenades or shields that can alter their playstyles for the duration of each mission. Naturally, the story is the major selling point here, exploring the setting like never before through rich dialogue and cinematic cutscenes.

Hero Missions offer a more free-roaming open-world approach to PvE. Players can team up to explore a series of sprawling maps and defeat hordes of diverse enemies and bosses. As they do so, they will be able to level up heroes and unlock new skills that enhance abilities or add extra powers. Each hero will have three skill trees to progress through. Like the Story Missions’ pick-ups, those skills will not carry over into regular multiplayer due to balance concerns. Even so, they should make for a very entertaining alternative, especially for players at higher skill ratings who have already seen all that the standard builds have to offer.

Maps and Modes

The developers have emphasized that the sequel’s release will not be the end of Overwatch 1. While the exact relationship between the two is still a little vague, it is clear that players from both titles will have access to a shared multiplayer experience where they will queue up together. As such, all of the new PvP content should be available in both games.

Players will get to face off on new maps. So far, New York, Rome, Toronto, Monte Carlo, Gothenburg, and Rio de Janeiro have been showcased. There will certainly be more, as Blizzard already promised that each mode will receive additional maps. Furthermore, many of them are likely to be larger due to thanks to an upcoming engine upgrade that can support a heavier load.

Currently, the only known new mode – available for regular and competitive play alike – is Push, in which two teams fight over a robot that can move barriers in either direction across a linear map. Whichever team manages to get the robot deeper into its rivals’ territory by the match’s end wins. The set-up seems  However, other modes were hinted at as well, possibly replacing less popular set-ups like Assault.

Old and New Heroes

Heroes are, of course, essential to a hero shooter, and many fans may have been dismayed to find out that no new characters will join the fray until the sequel is out. Afterward, though, Blizzard plans to make up for a lost time by releasing several characters at once. Only one of them has been revealed so far: Sojourn. Previously seen in cinematics, this cybernetically-enhanced Canadian agent is equipped with a railgun that can fire through her targets. She and the other new arrivals will no doubt make the climb into the Top 500 much more exciting.

Old characters will benefit from an ambitious graphics overhaul. This will presumably extend to their various cosmetics, as players have been promised that all unlocks and account progression will carry over to the sequel. It is not yet clear if any future cosmetics will be unlocked in the same way, however, as Blizzard appears interested in distancing themselves from the ever-controversial loot boxes.

There are likely to be gameplay changes as well. On top of the usual balance tweaks, developers have stated their interest in differentiating the three roles further by adding minor passive bonuses, such as increased speed for Damage or automatic regeneration for Support. Tanks may receive a particularly extensive rework to encourage them to take the offensive, both through modified abilities and bonuses that reduce knockback and speed up ult build-up after damage. Most of those ideas are still in the experimental stage.

Conclusion​​​​​​​

Waiting for Overwatch 2 may be painful, especially as it gets in the way of updating the current game. However, for its dedicated fanbase, it could still be worth it provided Blizzard sticks the landing. The stronger narrative focus may draw in new players while rewarding long-time fans with new insights into the backgrounds, personalities, and relationships of their beloved characters. Meanwhile, the possibility of major gameplay changes and never-before-seen battlefields and combatants should inject new life into the game for even the most jaded Diamond players.