Is Overwatch 2’s PvE game mode canceled? Not entirely
Earlier this week, you may have heard some disappointment regarding Overwatch 2. In a shocking admission on the developer live stream, game director Aaron Keller confirmed that “development on the PvE experience” had not made the progress that the studio had hoped. As a result, Blizzard was scrapping the long-awaited PvE Hero mode.
As news spread across social media, the messaging got a little twisted and many had reported that Blizzard had canceled Overwatch 2’s PvE plans entirely. That’s not entirely true.
Looking to set the record straight, Keller posted a more in-depth blog post addressing the future of Overwatch 2.
Is Overwatch 2’s PvE game mode canceled?
If you recall, when Overwatch 2 was first announced, it was to come with two types of PvE content — Story Missions and Hero Missions.
Story Missions were designed to feature fast-paced, co-op gameplay combined with story, cinematics and cutscenes that expand upon the world and lore of Overwatch. Keller explains further in the blog post:
Story Missions tell a linear narrative about the heroes of Overwatch reuniting and battling the new Null Sector threat, pushing the story of Overwatch forward for the first time since our original game released. These missions take place on huge maps with new enemies and new cinematics.
Story Missions have not been canceled for Overwatch 2. In fact, Blizzard will start to release these co-op missions as early as Season 6, which should arrive in mid-August.
Hero Missions, or Hero Mode, was an entirely different co-op experience. This mode was designed to allow players to upgrade heroes individually through talent trees, creating a deeply replayable version of PvE in Overwatch 2. This is the mode that has been canceled. The blog post goes much more in-depth regarding development of Hero Mode and why it was canceled, but this snippet pretty much sums it up:
Things rarely go as planned in game development. We struggled to find our footing with the Hero Mission experience early on. Scope grew. We were trying to do too many things at once and we lost focus. The team built some really great things, including hero talents, new enemy units and early versions of missions, but we were never able to bring together all of the elements needed to ship a polished, cohesive experience.
To conclude, not all of the PvE has been canceled for Overwatch 2 — just Hero Mode. Now, one could argue that Hero Mode was the more exciting of the two, but at least the lore of Overwatch, which actually is interesting if you follow it, will continue to be told in a more standard co-op experience through Story Missions. Below is a quick roadmap of the upcoming content for Overwatch 2.
https://twitter.com/PlayOverwatch/status/1658532777225060354
How do you feel about Blizzard canceling Hero Mode for Overwatch 2? Sound off in the comments.
