Ever since the broken promise of a PvE-focused Overwatch video game, its community has felt conflicted. One side holds onto hope for more story content, while the other denies it’ll ever come to light. Today, we’ll explore why there is hope for possible narrative development in PvE form but why there are also worrying signs that this may not happen anytime soon.
A History of PvE
Back in November 2019, Blizzard announced Overwatch 2 at BlizzCon. Jeff Kaplan, on the main stage, revealed plans for the future of the beloved FPS. During this presentation, Kaplan mentioned that it would redefine what a video game sequel could be. The most prominent announcement was the promise of a standalone Player-Versus-Enemy title.
The developers promised engaging, story-driven gameplay with skill trees and character progression. Players expected to be able to upgrade their heroes to their personal preferences, learn more about the fictional universe’s lore and enjoy a title that focused on building on the foundation that the beloved Archives Event laid out.
The Archives Event gave players a glimpse at Blizzard’s plans for their FPS
In May 2023, one fateful developer Q&A hammered a final nail in the coffin. You know how the next part goes; the highly-anticipated, separate endlessly replayable player versus enemy game was entirely cancelled. This went on to damage many fans’ opinions of the FPS and its development. The tear that this statement made within the community is still felt today, and rebuilding the trust within the fans will no doubt take more time and more action.
After this, Blizzard’s next move was to release the Invasion Bundle. In August 2023, this was released. Players did enjoy the three missions but were ultimately left feeling unsatisfied. While this built well upon the foundations of the Archives Events, the lack of replayability and the sour taste left by the cancelled content undermined its potential. It was also said during a livestream that we shouldn’t expect a follow-up to the Invasion Bundle until 2024, which extinguished any hype for further lore development.
The Future of PvE
Following this, in January 2024, many employees across the video game industry were painfully and unfortunately laid off. One round of layoffs included members of the Overwatch 2 narrative team and the PvE team. This universe’s lore and co-op story missions were two of the biggest draw-ins for fans in the first place. While we have recently received lore drops in the form of short stories, which are part of the Heroes Ascendant collection, these were likely written way before the layoffs.
It won’t be possible to understand the thought process behind any unfortunate layoffs. This decision, in particular, doesn’t have great implications though. We also haven’t heard a single announcement about potential upcoming lore mission content since Invasion. It could mean that any planned narrative missions have been indefinitely delayed.
Invasion was a step in the right direction, but what’s next?
Recently, Blizzard posted a job advertisement for a Creative Director for an unannounced title. Some Overwatch fans are speculating that this unannounced project is Overwatch-related. While this doesn’t seem likely, it’s definitely a possibility and an interesting job posting, considering the recent lay-off of creative story talent.
While the future of OW2 PvE is currently uncertain, and the FPS’ direction seems cross-over focused, as the Cowboy Bebop and Porshe collaborations indicate, we’ll have to be patient for further information. One thing to look out for is the upcoming Xbox showcase, dated June 9th 2024. We’ll likely see a trailer for some upcoming content, but it’s unclear whether or not any announcements on this topic will be made.
