After Blizzard announced that it would be mothballing the Overwatch 2 PvE mode it promised back in 2019, fans weren’t happy to say the least. Now, the game’s executive producer has responded to the backlash, trying to clarify what will actually happen.
In a series of tweets, Jared Neuss stated that while the hero mode and talents will be removed from the game, the story content is still being worked on alongside some of the other PvE experiences. He also said that PvE development has been an issue for years, which the team will address in more detail in the next director’s shoot. The full text of his speech is as follows:
“I want to clarify that while we decided to cut Heroic Mode + Talents, we have a lot of great PvE content this year. Large story missions, new cutscenes, co-op events, and solo hero mastery quests are on the way. I Would also like to acknowledge that today has been a challenging day for many in the Overwatch community, both players and developers. We know that today’s news regarding the scope of PvE is frustrating. We at Ontario Social Welfare Fund The leadership team did not make decisions lightly. We love the world of Overwatch and have many new stories to tell. Moving in this direction gives us confidence that we can tell these stories, albeit in a different way than we originally conveyed In a different way. Our next Director’s Shot blog will be out on Friday with more context. I’ve seen some speculation that the PvE scope changes on Overwatch 2 have something to do with Blizzard’s RTO strategy. For the record, that’s not true. Managing PvE and PvP development simultaneously has been a challenge for the team over the years. It’s a less exciting title, but it’s a reality. We’ll have more historical details in the next Director’s Shot. I hope the additional Context can shed light on why we made this decision.
Even with Noyce’s statement, and the fact that Overwatch 2 will be getting some PvE content in the future, it’s hard not to feel like the game desperately needs to assert itself as a sequel feature.
What do you think of it?