Overwatch 2 game director Aaron Keller and executive producer Jared Neuss have announced that the planned PvE Hero Mode campaign for the game has been cancelled. The long-delayed mode was originally set to offer an alternative to competitive multiplayer, featuring a unique progression system that allowed players to recruit teams and plow through narrative-driven maps. Keller and Neuss confirmed that the ideas from the cancelled mode will now be implemented in new PvE Story Missions, launching in Season 6. The development of any game is a process and the changes are necessary for the longevity of the game as its roadmap and player base continue to evolve.
Major Strategic Shift
Keller and Neuss described the cancellation of the PvE Hero Mode campaign as a major strategic shift. The Blizzard development team began replanning the most effective use of its resources, realizing that they couldn’t save up all of the content for PvE over the course of several years to finish it. This would have pulled more and more resources away from the people playing Overwatch. The team made a decision to focus all of its efforts on the live running game and all of its PvE efforts on this new story arc that they are launching in Season 6. Plans for a dedicated PvE mode have been cancelled, and studio resources will now be devoted to the launch of upcoming Story Missions.
The new PvE Story Missions are significantly different from the game’s Archives Mode, but it is not yet known how these will adapt PvE gameplay. The team hopes that releasing content for players that are playing the game will keep the game fresh and engaging. Overwatch 2 has received positive reviews, and the team aims to keep the game engaging for players with new content and missions. More information about the new mode will be available around August when Overwatch 2 Season 6 is expected to debut.
Leave a Reply