Unless you live under a rock, everyone has heard of Overwatch (OW). Overwatch is an exciting online first-person shooter game that has quickly developed a cult following. OW is played by many players across the globe, including in New Zealand. The game’s popularity has reached new heights in New Zealand, and today, thousands of New Zealand players love going online and playing OW with their friends.
In 2019, there was much buzz around Overwatch when the developers announced that Overwatch 2 (OW 2) was in development with a new feature, the PvE mode. The PvE mode was to introduce talent trees for each hero; and in a nutshell, OW 2 was going to be a stand-alone version featuring Hero mode or Hero missions.
Unfortunately, last week, the OW community was in an uproar when Blizzard Entertainment, the developers of OW, announced in a live stream that they were cancelling the PvE mode for OW 2. Immediately after the announcement, fans quickly passed judgment and voiced their concerns on various OW forums. Now that the dust has settled and some emotions are in check, we have decided to delve deeper and find out exactly why Blizzard has reached this decision. Below we discuss why Blizzard decided to scrap PvE mode and what it means for the future of OW 2.
Blizzard Couldn’t Deliver on The Original Vision That Was Shown in 2019
The original vision of PvE mode was supposed to have a dedicated hero mode with talent trees, long-term progression, and skill customization. Game director, Aaron Keller, shared the original vision of OW 2 when he published a blog to provide more detail about the unexpected cancellation of OW2. Regarding the original vision, Keller wrote ‘’when we announced OW 2 in 2019, the idea of the game was centered around the PvP game we released last October, and on the PvE side, Story Missions and Hero Missions.’’
The Hero Missions Mode would have been an in-game development mode allowing players to upgrade heroes through talent trees. While in development, Blizzard realized that the PvE mode was too ambitious and complex for their team and resources. Keller explained ‘’work began on the PvE portion of the game, and we steadily continued shifting more and more of the team to work on those features.’’ Blizzard decided to cut the PvE mode and focus on improving the PvP experience with new maps, heroes, modes and events. Keller emphasized this fact when he wrote in the blog ‘’we were trying to do too many things at once, and we lost focus.’’
Blizzard Wanted to Prioritize The Live-Service Aspect of OW 2
As alluded to earlier, the development of PvE mode took away resources and attention from the live-running game, resulting in fewer content updates for OW players. Keller mentioned ‘’we had an exciting but gargantuan vision and we were continuously pulling resources away from the live game in an attempt to realize it.’’
Blizzard wanted to create value for OW 2 that revolves around regularly putting out fresh, exciting, fun, and new experiences for players. When OW was first released, continuous improvements were made to the game every few months, including holiday-themed content, new game features and modes like Deathmatch. However, once the team announced OW 2 in 2019, updates to the game were rare, and at times, the intervals between updates were close to two years. Blizzard acknowledged the cause of this was due to the team focusing on OW 2 and the PvE mode and concluded a change was needed for the long-term sustainability of OW.
Once the decision was made to scrap the PvE mode, Blizzard shifted resources to OW 2’s PvP experience about a year before its launch and created a roadmap for future updates. Keller explained ‘’after Overwatch 2 had launched, we started refining our plans for future seasons. As those plans grew, we tried to find ways to make all of our ambitions fit together in a plan we believed in. We couldn’t, so we made the difficult decision to cut Hero Missions and started planning for the future.’’
Blizzard Still Plans to Incorporate Some Forms of PvE Content Into OW 2’s Live Service Roadmap
The cancellation of PvE mode does not mean that there will be no PvE content at all in OW 2. Blizzard will release story missions, cinematics, co-op events, and single-player hero mystery missions to explore the game’s lore and characters. Blizzard will repurpose some elements of the scrapped PvE mode, such as maps, mission structures, and talents, for PvP events. Keller concluded his blog by emphasizing the plans to incorporate some forms of PvE content. He wrote ‘’ we are still committed to building many of the elements we talked about at BlizzCon 2019, including the Story Missions that delve into the next chapter of the Overwatch universe, new types of co-op content we haven’t shared yet, and new stories that we’re planning to tell both in and out of the game.’’
This article investigated the main reasons why Blizzard decided to scrap PvE mode. Quotes from game director Aaron Keller were used to substantiate the reasons for the cancellation of PvE mode. After getting a better idea of the reasoning behind Blizzard’s decision, we are still disappointed that there will not be a PvE mode for OW 2. However, the reasons for the cancellation make sense, especially from a business viewpoint and to protect the integrity of the OW series. Every OW player is different; some have accepted this decision, while others are still upset and expect refunds from game purchases. However, while you wait for further updates on OW 2, why not try your luck and have some fun playing at the top paying casinos in New Zealand? It’s a great way to pass the time and potentially win big while indulging in thrilling casino games. So, whether you’re a fan of slots, poker, or blackjack, explore the exciting world of online gambling and experience the excitement of playing at reputable and rewarding casinos in New Zealand.
