Overwatch 2 Director Says Blizzard Wants to 'Get Back to' Story Content After Fans Feel It 'Dropped the Ball' With PvE

Overwatch 2 Game Director Aaron Keller has addressed criticisms that Blizzard Entertainment “dropped the ball” erstwhile it comes to things similar communicative content, PvE, and animated shorts.

The look of Blizzard’s fashionable leader shooter opened up astir the team’s struggles during an interrogation with contented creator Jay3 and Overwatch 2 dependable histrion Conor McLeod. Although the multiplayer rubric is mostly known for its team-based gameplay, Keller recognizes that immoderate communicative contented volition request to "come back" for Overwatch 2 to beryllium "firing connected each cylinders."

“One of the things that we perceive our players speech astir a lot, you spot online… it feels similar Overwatch has dropped the shot erstwhile it comes to communicative and lore,” Keller said successful effect to a question from McLeod. “You kinda spot that. We utilized to enactment a fewer much of the large animated shorts retired than we bash nowadays.”

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Overwatch animated shorts are a sore spot for fans. Blizzard primitively built excitement with a bid of high-quality cinematics from 2016 to 2023, with each highlighting abilities for characters similar Reinhardt, Hanzo, Genji, Mei, Bastion, and much portion besides showing however galore of its 43 playable characters acceptable into the larger story. What began arsenic somewhat predominant lore drops yet started to fizzle retired astir the merchandise of Overwatch 2 successful 2022. It’s been astir 2 years since fans received a 3D-animated cinematic.

Frustrations with the deficiency of animated shorts reached a boiling constituent erstwhile Blizzard announced it would beryllium scrapping its PvE Hero ambitions successful summertime 2023. With a long-promised story-driven mode canceled and animated abbreviated releases crawling to a halt, Blizzard had to commencement from scratch. Although it’s been years without a important update, Keller says the Overwatch 2 squad hasn’t wholly near communicative behind.

“To talk frankly astir it, we did person a large program to spell aft communicative successful the game. That was the PvE broadside of it with the run and everything similar that,” helium added. “That didn’t enactment out. So, it was benignant of a spot of a reset infinitesimal for america erstwhile that happened, and we would similar to get backmost to it. I deliberation 1 of the champion parts of Overwatch is the beingness and the characters that are there. That’s decidedly a extremity of ours to get backmost to it. There’s been a spot of a measurement backwards that we had to instrumentality successful bid for america to beryllium capable to commencement moving guardant connected it again.”

Blizzard announced a gameplay facelift for Overwatch 2 successful February of this year. During its breakdown, the workplace announced a large caller PvP crippled mode called Stadium arsenic good arsenic the instrumentality of escaped loot container cosmetic rewards, 2 caller Heroes, and a gameplan for the adjacent twelvemonth of content. Many of these additions, including a cardinal gameplay alteration called Perks, person launched since, signaling that Blizzard has recovered its footing arsenic it makes bully connected important promises.

Many of these changes person been accepted with unfastened arms by the Overwatch 2 community, but arsenic caller players flock to spot wherefore fans are abruptly talking astir the 2016 leader shooter again, the tendency for communicative contented inactive echoes crossed Reddit threads and X/Twitter posts.

One thought galore fans – including McLeod – would emotion to spot is an Overwatch TV series. Keller says he’s not opposed to the idea, going arsenic acold arsenic to accidental “we’d emotion to bash that.” It’s unclear how, when, oregon if Keller and the Overwatch 2 squad volition beryllium capable to participate different aureate age. One happening is clear: Keller knows Overwatch fans privation much communicative content.

“I deliberation for america to accidental that Overwatch 2 is firing connected each cylinders, we request to person immoderate of that travel back,” Keller said.

Overwatch 2 is presently successful the midst of Season 17: Powered Up, which features a enactment of retro-gaming-inspired skins, Mythic cosmetics for Reaper and D.Va, caller Stadium Heroes, and crossover contented with G.I. Joe. Time volition archer if Blizzard is capable to regain mislaid ground, but successful the meantime, you tin work astir however galore players are yet enjoying Overwatch again aft years of downtime. You tin besides cheque retired the 2025 Stadium roadmap for a person look astatine immoderate of the contented acceptable to get successful the adjacent future.

Michael Cripe is simply a freelance contributor with IGN. He's champion known for his enactment astatine sites similar The Pitch, The Escapist, and OnlySP. Be definite to springiness him a travel connected Bluesky (@mikecripe.bsky.social) and Twitter (@MikeCripe).