While BlizzCon gave fans a fleeting look into what’s in store for players in the upcoming sequel toOverwatch,there wasn’t much mention of the first title. Fans of the original entry in the series can take a sigh of relief that Blizzard’s competitive shooter won’t go through a content drought while work progresses on the sequel.
Jeff Kaplan, director ofOverwatch,confirmed in an interview thatOverwatchwon’t receive any new heroes until the sequel releases. However, players will still see fresh content hit the 2016 title to tide them over in the meantime, though no specifics were given.
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One of the definite points Kaplan outlined is that the originalOverwatchwon’t be seeing any new heroes hit the roster until the sequel releases- a datesuggested by Blizzard to be somewhere in 2022. This is despite acknowledgment that players are hungry for this kind of revitalizing new content. The latest hero released forOverwatchwas Echo in April 2020. The fact players are almost certainly going to have to wait over a year for the next major release is disheartening to the game’s playerbase, but also speaks to the scale of Blizzard’s efforts to shake things up in the sequel.
Overwatchreceives semi-frequent, small-scale contentupdates like skin challengesto keep the game interesting without diverting too many resources from the sequel. While Kaplan admits this doesn’t always please the community, he believes these small updates, like the game modes added to the recent Chinese New Year event, are a better option than releasing a new Hero, which he states would “delayOverwatch 2.”
As with many titles, the workings behindOverwatchhave been stung by the repercussions of Covid-19. The game’s official competitive league has been delayed from its usual February start, in addition to the administrative issues that thecoronavirus has caused the Overwatch League. As such, the horizon forOverwatchfans seems relatively bare in the near future, especially in contrast to past years.
It’s a sad reality players have to face, as Blizzard’s talent pool isn’t infinite, and the studio is simply much more focused on the sequel for the time being. Stretching resources too thin would simply injure both games in the long run.
While there have been detractorsstating thatOverwatch 2is a glorified expansionpack, the studio seems determined to shake off that image, promising a rich story mode and a shakeup to the original’s successful multiplayer formula. The game has been praised for its interesting lore, andOverwatch 2marks a fantastic opportunity for Blizzard to explore the universe more deeply, winning narrative-focused players over with more than the series' solid visual design and gameplay.
While this development is no real surprise to long-termOverwatchfans, Blizzard’s determination to dig in and focus heavily on the sequel shows the company is set on gettingOverwatch 2up to scratch as soon as possible. While Blizzcon gave a surface-level look at the upcoming title, persistent rumorssuggest thatOverwatch 2is due a betain the coming months. Whether players will be treated to such a hefty update on the game’s progress is yet to be seen, leavingOverwatch’s player base waiting for the game’s promised content updates in the long, waiting months until the sequel.
