Overwatch 2’s story-driven PvE missions are being abandoned by Blizzard

Overwatch 2 finally got some of its long-awaited PvE content last August, but it doesn’t look like more is on the way, according to some new reports. Earlier this week, a story from Kotaku indicated that the future of Overwatch 2’s story-driven PvE missions was in question after the first batch of missions, which were released as paid DLC for a free-to-play game and sold poorly. Now, a new report from Bloomberg affirms that. As part of a newsletter outlining wider frustrations Blizzard’s developers have with how the company ties profit-sharing bonuses to the performance of games that specific teams make, Bloomberg touched on how the Overwatch 2 team’s bonuses were negatively impacted by the failure of the PvE content. A lot of that PvE team was apparently laid off in January when Microsoft cut 1,900 games-related jobs, and sources now tell Bloomberg that Blizzard does not plan to finish its previously planned PvE content. In a statement to Bloomberg, Blizzard explained that this is happening because Overwatch 2 is “focusing on the foundation team-based experience, building the game alongside our players, and more quickly addressing their feedback.” Still, that argument is a tough sell when one considers that Overwatch 2 was initially announced and positioned as a game with a heavy PvE focus. I found its cooperative PvE missions released last August to actually be quite enjoyable, and their narrative left off on a cliffhanger. It’s a shame we won’t get to see the developer at Blizzard see that vision through. As Overwatch 2 begins to focus solely on PvP, Blizzard has also made the decision to offer all new heroes for free, rather than tying them to the battle pass. Overwatch 2 is a free-to-play game available for PC, PlayStation 4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, and Nintendo Switch. The next Blizzard games to hit Xbox Game Pass are two real-time strategy (RTS) classics. Xbox announced during its Tokyo Game Show 2024 presentation that StarCraft: Remastered and StarCraft 2: Campaign Collection will be available on PC Game Pass and Game Pass Ultimate very soon. The reveal was delivered by Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer, who appeared on the virtual stage in a StarCraft T-shirt. Spencer delivered a series of quick announcements before capping off his appearance by stating that the two games will hit Game Pass on November 5. Blizzard Entertainment surprise dropped Overwatch 2 on Xbox Game Pass on Tuesday, despite the game being free to play and already on Xbox. You might find this to be a strange addition, but as a Blizzard blog post specifies, this is more about encouraging players to link their Battle.net and Xbox accounts. As a reward, players that do so will receive six exclusive skins: Cardboard Reinhardt, Turtleship D.Va, Cyberdragon Hanzo, Street Runner Genji, Bee Mercy, and Cleric Lifeweaver. (The image of a Reinhardt in a cardboard suit is delightful.) Players will also get 30 Mythic Prisms that they can use in the Mythic Shop for other skins. Blizzard Entertainment might test out a 6v6 format after removing it ahead of Overwatch 2’s launch, although nothing is set in stone just yet. In an approximately 3,600-word blog post posted Thursday, Overwatch 2 game director Aaron Keller said that the team is looking into “running a series of events” to test new “composition formats,” specifically 6v6, based on player feedback.