Earlier this year, Blizzard announcedOverwatch 2would be arriving early so that it could be used as part of the 2022 season of the Overwatch League. The arrival ofOverwatch 2’s PvP and the delay of its PvE shook up all expectations for the multiplayer shooter. This past week’s confirmation ofOverwatch 2going free-to-play has stirred things up all the more, leavingOverwatchfans questioning just what Blizzard intends to do with the PvE half of the game.To start, Blizzard has now confirmed that its plans to break apart the previously announced “full” game ofOverwatch 2into smaller seasonal updates extend not just to PvP, but also to PvE. There will no longer be a single release delivering all ofBlizzard’s plannedOverwatch 2PvE content. Instead, sometime in 2023, Blizzard will begin releasing pieces of its overall PvE content update by update.RELATED:Overwatch 2 Beta Sign-Ups Are Now LiveWhile the scope of these individual PvE updates has yet to be broken down, Blizzard has said that all the content previously detailed for PvE inOverwatch 2is still planned under the new release plan. That includes over 25,000 voice lines, extraordinaryOverwatch 2stories, cooperative multiplayer experiences, and individual hero progression paths including talent systems.Overwatch 2will still move thestory of theOverwatchuniverseforward in a way it was previously unable to, just through seasonal chapters rather than in one big package.
Overwatchfanslikely have one big question regarding how Blizzard is changing its plans for PvE. That question is whether the PvE ofOverwatch 2will still be a premium offering or if it too will be going free-to-play. The answer is that Blizzard isn’t ready to talk about that yet. When asked, Blizzard said it will share more information on how it plans to deliver PvE inOverwatch 2at a later date.
As for what’s known aboutBlizzard’s seasonal content releases, a cadence for updates has already been confirmed.Overwatch 2will officially launch in October and alongside it will launch Season 1. Each season will last for 9 weeks, after which a new update will be delivered and a new season will begin. It’s unconfirmed whether PvE updates will be delivered every season, bi-seasonally, or irregularly.
Blizzard’s decision forOverwatch 2’s PvE is likely to be met with some controversy. The PvE half of the game was looked at as an opportunity to expand the overallOverwatchaudience in a way that PvP couldn’t. This seasonal model for PvE content is going to be an altogether different experience and may not capture an audience like a full game could have. Whether the new approach toOverwatch 2’s PvEwill succeed remains to be seen.
Overwatch 2PvP arrives in early access for PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S on October 4, and PvE arrives in 2023.
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