By the merit of the title alone, Overwatch 2 would seem to be an outright sequel , rather than a marginal expansion or batch of DLC packs. Yet, the fact that we currently only have the reveal of a single new heroin Sojourn (with the potential of the robotic Echo as well), it tends to look more like the latte

Overwatch 2 might be the first sequel in history that players of the original begged the developers not to make. Through a small handful of gameplay changes and minor visual updates, it just barely manages to justify its own existence. It feels like it’s Blizzard’s attempt to restructure the monetization into a more profitable, industry-standard model, which people have rightly pointed out benefits the publisher, but doesn’t actually provide any value to the players. At first blush, Overwatch 2 comes across like a dark tulpa of the original - a product designed to increase profits and engagement without offering anything that meaningfully increases enjoyment. Within the broader context, Overwatch 2 follows this year’s Diablo: Immortal as just another anti-consumer title from a mega corp that used to actually care about its fans and reputation. There’s never been a particularly good answer to the question "Why does Overwatch 2 exist?", and I don’t anticipate there ever will

Another unannounced unit shown off in concept art-form appears to be another flying drone-like unit. This oblique, tripodal Omnic made zero appearances besides one concept art image, but it looks similar to a Detona

If you’re not intimately familiar with Overwatch, it might be hard to tell Overwatch 2 is even a different game. It has a few new characters and some new maps, a new game mode called Push, plus some subtle character redesigns, but it's largely the same game it's always been. But if you’ve been an active Overwatch player, a lot of the subtle changes have actually made a pretty big differe

We'll get to see some more detailed character models, in addition to a new HUD and a significant engine upgrade, which should make for some even more dazzling and smoother gameplay. At the very least, it should provide a refreshing experie

The Detonators appeared in the Uprising seasonal event. However, there are some notable differences between the image and the Uprising models, and Uprising's titular PvE mode reenacted an event predating both Overwatch and Overwatch 2. So it's unclear what this new Omnic's role will be, if not flying towards enemies and blowing up like a Detonator. Perhaps it's a healer? Maybe another grenade-tossing drone? Who kn

A shot of Reinhardt’s Talent Trees offers a lot of information. In the BlizzConline video, the player browses the Tank Hero’s available upgrades, including some wild abilities like Baldrich’s Stand, Shield Bash, and Overhead Smash. Baldrich’s Stand grants Reinhardt large armor and damage buffs when his shield breaks. Shield Bash stuns enemies with a forward bash of the shield — much like Brigitte’s ability. Overhead Smash grants a damage buff and Stun abilities after two consecutive hits with the Rocket Ham

But Blizzard left out a few enemy types seen in a concept art image shown during the video. Most notable were the humanoid, Omnic grunt-looking bots with wings and red armor and an enormous, gorilla-like bot hulking over the rest in the lineup. These enemies may not appear in the final build, but it’s interesting to wonder what they might

Overwatch wasn’t a failure. The servers didn’t need to go down. Blizzard has the cash available. If they can pay their nightmare marshmallow CEO millions in salary, stocks, and employee hush money , they can keep servers up. There’s no reason to insta-kill the original outside of shaking down fans.

Losing a tank opened the door for major, much needed reworks to a lot of heroes. Tanks like Reinhardt and Orisa now have more utility and survivability since they have to tank for the entire team, while shield breakers like Bastion get to take a step back and fill a different role. I’m not suggesting that every character is perfectly balanced now, but I see so many improvements already. It’s hard not to be excited about the new Overwatch meta. A shakeup like this was never going to happen without a title cha

After the fancy new animated trailer was shown off at Blizzcon, Kaplan started listing off all the goodies players would get with Overwatch 2 Tips 2 . Echo and Sojourn, along with possibly four more unannounced heroes would join the roster, new maps based in Toronto, Gothenburg, Monte Carlo, and Rio De Janeiro would be available, and there would be a new game mode called Push. Perhaps the most important new addition is the co-op story mode, which will finally allow fans of the series' lore to play through narrative PVE missions with their favorite charact

The grim reality is that the entire reason Overwatch 2 exists is to change the way Blizzard makes money. All of the meta changes, like the battle pass, Coin system, and locking new players out of content until they grind enough, are designed to increase revenue and engagement metrics. I don’t think we should ignore that or give Blizzard a pass, and if that’s enough to get you to give up on Overwatch 2 I don’t blame you. As someone who still loves the game, I’m willing to accept fewer free rewards if it means more frequent updates and better events. It’s simply too soon to write it off for me. I need to see how the devs respond to feedback and how much the game changes over the next year. None of this is ideal, but in the long run, it could end up being exactly what Overwatch nee