In the midst of continued controversy surrounding Activision Blizzard, the company’s sequel to 2016’sOverwatch,Overwatch 2, is also apparently struggling. Although Blizzard gave anOverwatch 2development updatein a recent shareholders meeting that indicated the game was moving past important milestones, it turns out the expected 2022 release time window may no longer be accurate. A reputableOverwatchleaker believesOverwatch 2may not release until 2023, and says this delay is largely due to Blizzard’s lack of attention to many of the longtime heroes in the game.
Overwatchleaker Metro has been accurate aboutOverwatchdetails in the past, as he correctly predicted Ashe’s release and shared information related toOverwatch 2before it was ever announced at BlizzCon 2019. A few days ago, he sent out a message on Twitter claimingOverwatch 2might not release in 2022but didn’t follow up with any additional information regarding the release period change. He did, however, speculate that the extended wait time for the sequel could signal a decline inOverwatch’s player base.
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Now, Metro has outlined his claims in further detail while streaming on Twitch. First, he indicates that the development process forOverwatch 2has indeed reached several milestones like finishing the design work for new and existing heroes in the game.Overwatch 2’s multiplayer mapsand the new single-player campaign are also basically finished. However, Metro claims that Blizzard has so far not put any work into changing how current heroes will play in the new game besides what the company already revealed at BlizzCon 2021.
“They did not consider reworking any heroes,” he says, while adding that in Blizzard’s latest developer update the company apparently “hadn’t even considered how McCree might be completely busted with a stun inOverwatch 2.” While Blizzard has outlined changes to existing heroes, likeReinhardt’s potential double Fire Strikeand charge cancel abilities, it seems the few hero balances Blizzard has hinted at were the only ones discussed until recently. Metro says the company only decided to do more reworking of existing heroes after the community pointed out how broken some of them actually are. However, it should be noted that this information has not been verified by anyone official and so fans should take it with a grain of salt for now.
Ultimately, it’s still hard to tell exactly where the development ofOverwatch 2stands with the conflicting information of Blizzard’s latest update and Metro’s leaks. Jeff Kaplan’s departure from the project earlier this year was certainly a shock to many and yet could have been an early signal of the game’s developmental struggles. It’s hard to imagine that the recent lawsuit against Activision Blizzard hasn’t also affected the efficiency of the team behindOverwatch 2. If the game is pushed back to 2023, it’s going to be another tough blow for a company already in the throes of turmoil.
Overwatch 2is in development for PC, PS4, Switch, and Xbox One.
