Overwatch 2 Dev Chat - Creating Starwatch, PvE Updates & 2023 Roadmap

[Lumy]

Overwatch 2 Dev Chat - Creating Starwatch, PvE Updates & 2023 Roadmap
Overwatch 2 developer stream is now live! Tune in to learn more about everything new planned for 2023, including new events, PvE, new Heroes, new maps, and more.

[Edge-]

Holy fuck even in my saltiest days I was mostly joking in that they'd kill off the PvE mode which was basically the whole reason that OW2 exists as a sequel...er expansion.

Now it's basically just a big patch with a business model change.

Welp, guess I can at least uninstall the game since the only reason I had any interest in OW2 is now dead. Was leaving it installed just to make the update easier whenever it dropped, but seeing as the PvE missions with character progress and shit are all deadzo then I'm out.

Blizzard's MAU's have already dropped back down to pre-OW2 launch levels fairly quickly, I doubt this will have any meaningful effect in boosting them back up.

No hate on the dev team proper, but all disappointment and frustration for being strung along when it's very likely they knew PvE wasn't going to happen long ago goes straight towards OW/Blizzard leadership. Must be incredibly frustrating to be on the development team right now.

Edit: https://www.mmo-champion.com/threads...1#post54087461

I was wrong, it was not a blog post it was a livestream. I assume the blog post will be coming afterwards, though.

[ThatsOurEric]

I gave up on this weeks before due to just being
so sick and tired of the quality of the MM system.

Spending an entire day just to get 15 wins in UNRANKED
mode is just not worth it.

[Mendzia]

Wait... so they cancelled the 'main thing' of OW2 that was delayed multiple times but still promised?
LOL, what a joke.

[The Stormbringer]

Bring back lootboxes on level-up, but have that be the only way to get them (though I suppose getting free lootboxes for holiday events would work). There's no incentive to play otherwise.

[Kaykay]

What a scam, they removed the main feature of the game, the sole reason to make a sequel and not just add heroes or new gamemodes to the original.

I hope they face major backlash from this farce. And right when things were looking up after a successfull d4 beta weekend, and a popular wow expansion, we're right back in the shitter for blizz trust/reputation.

[Zuben]

I didn't exactly expect them to scrap the PVE mode as its own entity.. but then I kinda did. Seeing how well such games have done as late it makes business sense to stick what seems to work, namely quality PVP with shameless money-grabbing schemes. Or it would be quality if matchmaking didn't keep getting worse season by season...

Still, a shame. If the story is delivered in something resembling the Archives it's unlikely to hold much interest. People will play it once for the story bits, then a few more times for event achievements.

Then again I am on record for considering the story rather shit. OW's world-building is very good, but what story we've been catered through short stories and comics has been juvenile tripe.

[Khaza-R]

Kind of hard to see OW2 recovering community interest3 at this point.

I think this game is destined to go the way of HotS.

[Edge-]

Kind of hard to see OW2 recovering community interest3 at this point.

I think this game is destined to go the way of HotS.

While I'd normally agree, Blizzard has invested far too much into OWL to let that happen, at least soon. I imagine they'll keep pushing it for a while even if the numbers aren't there. But I imagine teams spending millions to participate in the league will be having some discussions about their continued involvement.

[crusadernero]

Nice way to slug in a brand new business model into OW in the cover of "WE WILL GIVE YOU PVE"

[Unlimited Power]

Glad I never bothered with Overwatch "2.0" seeing as I was only ever interested in the PvE aspect anyway. Guess that means I can stop collecting skins from twitch drops too since I won't ever be playing this game again anyway.

[Malrune]

I can picture the OW2 story guys sitting around a table and in front of them is a big whiteboard labeled Tracer story mission ideas, but then after four years of discussion the only thing written on the board is She's a Lesbian.

[Liftbrul]

Can't even properly articulate my disappointment. This is just sad.

[Assumi]

Well there does any interest I'd have to actually reinstall this game for something new.

[CopyX1982]

The size of the fucking 'L' the OW2 team is taking right now, I just went on twitter, 'Overwatch 2' is trending, and for all the wrong reasons. People are BIG mad.

[SinR]

Oh Hey the entire reason some people wanted OW2 is being axed.

*Insert shocked Pikachu here*

[Edge-]

Man, I do wonder if Kaplan realized that PvE was simply never gonna happen back in 2021 and that's why he peaced the fuck out, rofl.

[Jester Joe]

Man, I do wonder if Kaplan realized that PvE was simply never gonna happen back in 2021 and that's why he peaced the fuck out, rofl.

For the record, there is PvE coming.

It seems that there's some misunderstanding in that the PvE mode they showed off is being canceled(AKA- No random missions, talent trees, etc), but they said also they're going to be releasing story driven PvE in seasons instead. Hence why there's a big "Story Missions" at the top of Season 6.

[Edge-]

For the record, there is PvE coming.

It seems that there's some misunderstanding in that the PvE mode they showed off is being canceled(AKA- No random missions, talent trees, etc), but they said also they're going to be releasing story driven PvE in seasons instead. Hence why there's a big "Story Missions" at the top of Season 6.

Yes, OW1 style PvE missions that didn't excite anyone, really. Not the full-fledged story PvE mode with talents and progression and everything that reinvigorated interest in OW.

Which was like, the whole-ass reason that OW2 was supposedly being made to begin with, and the reason why it needed a big engine update and everything.

[Jester Joe]

Yes, OW1 style PvE missions that didn't excite anyone, really. Not the full-fledged story PvE mode with talents and progression and everything that reinvigorated interest in OW.

Which was like, the whole-ass reason that OW2 was supposedly being made to begin with, and the reason why it needed a big engine update and everything.

This is what I mean by misunderstanding.

What was cut was the talents, which I cannot speak for everyone but I wasn't under the impression that people wanted basically Borderlands, they just wanted PvE. And then what else was cut was the open ended missions, which wasn't anything close to a full fledged story mode, it was more akin to world quests in WoW. Just random objectives that were meant to be tackled with friends.

The story is staying.

https://www.gamespot.com/articles/ov.../1100-6514242/

GameSpot: The big talking point is the direction that you're now taking with the PvE; that you basically aren't doing it. Is that the correct way to characterize it? It's not happening anymore and you've pivoted away from it?

Aaron Keller: I think I would characterize it slightly differently, which is we are doing part of what the team had set out to do, but not the entirety of what was discussed back at BlizzCon 2019. So the real focus is on the story missions and that experience as opposed to the more open-ended hero mode and that stuff.

Right. So it's fair to say that the experience that you showed during that first Overwatch 2 reveal is not going to be the one that will be released at any point?

Aaron Keller: Yeah, exactly. So we are definitely not doing the Hero Mode and the talents and that power progression system.

I dunno where you're getting the assumption it's going to be OW1 style PvE missions either, but I will point out they directly said Bride of Junkenstein was an example of how the tech helped them step up and that was leaps and bounds better than most of the PvE missions they've had.