The PvE aspect has always been a small part of Overwatch for years. With the launch of Overwatch 2 in 2022, Blizzard promised that it would make PvE take a bigger role in the franchise. We were talking about story missions, abilities, and whatnot. It was supposed to be game-changing.
However, in 2023, Blizzard revealed that the PvE aspect of Overwatch 2 will be abandoned entirely. Gamers were frustrated, as the entire point of the sequel was defeat. The studio’s reason for this move was outrageous and still doesn’t make sense to this day in 2025.
Overwatch 2‘s PvE U-turn still doesn’t make sense
After Blizzard announced that all the PvE mode plans for Overwatch 2 had been scrapped, GameSpot got the opportunity to sit down with game director Aaron Keller and executive producer Jared Neuss and talk about the reasons behind this decision. After all, gamers had been waiting for PvE for years, and they were confused by its sudden drop.
While chatting, Keller stated that the PvE experience that was promised at BlizzCon 2019 would’ve never materialized. When asked when Blizzard realized this issue, he stated that it was a gradual process. Since the team had been working on PvE for years, it led to a content drought for the PvP aspect of the game.
So we came to the realization that this wasn’t the right way to be developing for all of Overwatch. It was about a year and a half ago that we made the decision to really shift strategy. That’s when we rapidly shifted the resources on our team to work on launching Overwatch 2, and that’s what came out last October.
At some point, Blizzard realized that saving up content for a single big PvE launch was actually causing a downward spiral for Overwatch 2. The studio didn’t want to take long gaps in pushing out PvP content and ultimately decided to launch Overwatch 2 as a live-service game.
Keller and his team might say that the decision to abandon PvE has allowed Blizzard to push more regular updates. However, most of the community agrees that it’s just mismanagement. Players had to wait for years with little to no PvP content, hoping that PvE would justify everything, but that simply didn’t happen.
Blizzard’s reasoning behind canceling PvE plans still doesn’t make sense in 2025. If the studio didn’t want to go on content droughts, it would’ve adequately planned resources before focusing on PvE. Two years of going radio silent simply proved that Blizzard hadn’t properly planned the development of Overwatch 2, and players had to pay the price.
Overwatch 2 has a brand-new exciting update
Ever since the release of Marvel Rivals, Blizzard has been forced to up its game and bring out new content for Overwatch 2. The developer has pushed out a brand-new mid-season patch. One of the highlights of this update is the beginning of the second LE SSERAFIM crossover that brings brand-new skins for Ashe, Mercy, Juno, D.Va, and Illari.
Gamers can take up in-game challenges to earn themselves the Fawsky James Junkrat skin if they weren’t able to get it previously.
On March 21st, Freja will finally be available to try before her full release in Season 16, and on March 25th, Overwatch: Classic event will be making a return, featuring 2018’s GOATS meta.
That’s not all, though; there are tons of hero-balancing changes. Heroes such as Brigitte, Junker Queen, Road Hog, Genji, and Mei have had their Perks adjusted. Other than that, Illari’s Solar Rifle has been buffed.
Bastion and Torbjorn have been given significant nerfs. Bastion’s Self-Repair pack has been given a resource meter, and Torbjorn’s Turret has been given a health and damage reduction.
Gamers can also head to the shop and purchase the Dame Chance Mythic Weapon skin for Widowmaker. It’s an evolving rifle that brings stunning animations and effects.
With that said, do you think Blizzard must change its plan and develop PvE for Overwatch 2? Let us know in the comments below.
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