Why do we need Overwatch 2?

Overwatch 2, the long-awaited sequel to the ground-breaking 2016 FPS, is set to release on October 4. However, a number of factors beg the question — why do we need Overwatch 2?

From a torrid development schedule to its marginal improvements on its predecessor, there are plenty of reasons why Overwatch 2 is an unnecessary release that reeks of financial greed and a desperate need to take attention from an ailing developer.

The frustrating history of Overwatch and Overwatch 2

Overwatch was released on May 24, 2016, to critical and commercial acclaim. The six-versus-six first-person shooter came with bright, colorful visuals and an engaging cast of 21 champions. The game was wildly popular, with a large casual player base and a quickly developing competitive scene.

Over the next three years, the game only continued to grow. Twelve new playable characters were added and a lucrative esports league emerged in 2018. It was truly a golden age that not only made Blizzard millions but also moved them away from being simply the “World of Warcraft company”.

But everything would change in 2019. The Overwatch League, which had performed adequately in its inaugural 2018 season, wouldn’t really blossom as many had hoped in its sophomore season. The addition of eight new teams hadn’t given the league the boost it had expected and the league’s commissioner, Nate Nanzer, quit midseason to take a job with Epic Games. Furthermore, the community of casual players were being lured away with a surge in popularity for Fortnite, as well as the release of Apex Legends.

But the biggest blow came in November when it was announced that Blizzard would begin the development of Overwatch 2, a sequel to the three-and-a-half-year-old game. Even though Overwatch 2 would have a shared multiplayer environment with Overwatch, meaning the players of either game could play together, the announcement was a death knell for Overwatch. Blizzard scaled back updates for Overwatch and would release just one new hero after the reveal of Overwatch 2.

Worse still, fans received only sparse updates about Overwatch 2, with Blizzard going silent about the project for most of 2020 and 2021. Of course, Blizzard was dealing with rampant internal issues during this time. The gaming giant had had a barrage of hostile workplace accusations levelled at them, ranging from discrimination to sexual harassment.

One of the few significant changes made to the game after the reveal of Overwatch 2 was the renaming of the character McCree, one of the original 21 heroes available at launch. It was revealed he had been named after a member of the development team who had been named in one of the sexual harassment lawsuits against Blizzard.

When Blizzard finally began to reveal details about Overwatch 2 in 2022, including a limited-time beta, it felt like too little, too late.

The new features don’t justify a sequel

We now know a lot more about Overwatch 2, thanks to a reveal event from Blizzard:

• The game will operate on a free-to-play model with a monetized battle pass system
• The game will feature expanded PvE and competitive modes
• New game mode
• Visual update and visual rework of all playable characters

While I’m sure that sounds great to a hardcore Overwatch fan, there’s just one problem — why does this need to be its own game? Why does Overwatch 2 need to exist? Aside from Overwatch 2 being developed on a newer version of Blizzard’s game engine, there’s no reason that they couldn’t have implemented these changes in the original Overwatch. Blizzard abandoned Overwatch three years ago to build a sequel for a game that was perfectly fine and could already be built on.

The obvious answer as to why Blizzard is doing this is money. While Overwatch 2 will be free to play, the implementation of a monetized battle pass will ensure consistent revenue from Overwatch 2 for several years, provided Blizzard doesn’t find a way to mess it up. However, people seemingly forget that Blizzard is not some small independent developer, it’s a megacorporation that made just under nine billion dollars in revenue last year and is about to be owned by Microsoft.

They could have absolutely implemented most of the original content for Overwatch 2 into the original Overwatch, especially things like new game modes and an expanded PvE experience (which fans have vocally wanted for most of Overwatch’s lifespan). As previously mentioned, the decision to launch a sequel (that, as also previously mentioned, will be able to be played with players still on the original game) is one purely fuelled by revenue forecasts.

Overwatch 2 is too late for the trend it’s emulating

The other major problem for Overwatch 2 is that the game wants to throw itself into a market that is far too established. Overwatch 2, with its free-to-play/monetized battle pass system, is trying to compete with titles such as Fortnite and Apex Legends. While it could be argued that games like Rainbow Six Siege could also be considered competitors, Fortnite and Apex are much closer in style and tone to Overwatch.

Unfortunately for Overwatch 2, these games are well-established and already drained a significant chunk of the Overwatch player base during the doldrums of Overwatch in 2018/2019. Given that Overwatch 2 will be largely unchanged from Overwatch in terms of gameplay, there is no unique draw that would lead to players returning to Overwatch from games they originally left the franchise for. Plus, why play within the confines of Overwatch 2 when you can be Naruto and do the Floss with Rick Sanchez and Master Chief?

There is also the issue of gameplay. Fortnite is essentially a giant sandbox that sometimes becomes a battle royale. Meanwhile, Overwatch 2 is a semi-serious five-versus-five FPS that is being optimized for its competitive scene.

That’s the thing – perhaps the most significant change in Overwatch 2 is that teams will now feature five players rather than six. Furthermore, lineups will be restricted to a single tank-category hero to prevent the return of the GOATS meta that has dominated Overwatch’s competitive and professional scene for years.

Overall, Overwatch 2 has minimal widespread appeal to people who don’t already play Overwatch.

Justifiable questions about franchising

But the mere existence of a sequel begs the question — how long will the Overwatch 2 last? If the game is successful enough that it doesn’t become a ghost town within a year, how long will it be before Blizzard announces Overwatch 3? If we extrapolate the timeline from Overwatch, we can expect Blizzard to abandon Overwatch 2 in favor of developing a sequel sometime in mid-2026, or three-and-a-half years after Overwatch 2 is released.

Similarly, while Overwatch 2 will be launched with the ability for players to play with people still playing the original game, Blizzard has promised a comprehensive content plan for Overwatch 2. With that in mind, and given how little has come to the original game in the years since the sequel was announced, how much longer do Overwatch fans have before support for the game is officially ended?

Furthermore, will we reach a point where the “shared multiplayer environment” is shut down? Overwatch will be about six and half years old when Overwatch 2 finally launches and isn’t due to receive the visual overhauls Overwatch 2 will (which also begs the question of what the point of the shared multiplayer environment is). Blizzard’s plan has to be to slowly ween people off Overwatch and onto the sequel before finally putting the original game to rest.

Overwatch 2: Here We Go Again

I stopped playing Overwatch a long time ago, a lot of people did. On a good day, concurrent Twitch viewers of Overwatch break 10,000. But on most days, the number falls closer to five thousand.

Overwatch 2 is not going to be the magical fix Blizzard seemingly hopes it will be. It’s going to make people forget that it’s a company with way too many skeletons in the closet. It’s not going to inspire a newfound sense of love in longtime players who have trudged through three years of abandonment. It’s not going to convince people to stop playing Fornite and become Overwatch 2 mains.

But unfortunately, it is probably going to make Blizzard a whole load of money.

Overwatch 2 is not a game that should exist and speaks to the evergrowing toxic ideal within the games industry that newer is better.

Header: Blizzard