One of the Biggest Fumbles in History That Doomed Overwatch to a Slow, Painful Death Long Before Marvel Rivals Ousted Blizzard
It’s fair to say that the last couple of weeks have been an absolute nightmare for Overwatch 2, and that’s all because of Marvel Rivals. Blizzard initially projected Marvel Rivals as nothing but a clone of its hero shooter and stated that it had nothing to worry about.
However, when NetEase Games released Marvel Rivals on December 6th, everything took a turn for the worse for Blizzard. Overwatch 2 immediately started losing players, and players claimed that the hero-shooter had finally met its end. However, even before this, Blizzard made an awful choice with the game, which might’ve been a sign of things to come.
Overwatch 2 dropped the ball by cancelling story mode
There’s no denying the fact that the core PvP gameplay of the original Overwatch was what many considered to be the most alluring aspect of the game. However, fans know that the hero-shooter’s incredible roster of characters was the biggest pulling factor.
Using these heroes, Blizzard created a number of lengthy animated short videos, and each of them gave us intimate but important stories. They ranged from comedic and inconsequential videos to extremely crucial and teary narratives.
With these incredible shorts, gamers couldn’t help but wonder what an Overwatch game centered around a story mode would look like.
Back in 2019, Blizzard presented us with Overwatch 2, and its main selling point was the campaign co-op mode. Very little was shared about the mode, but gamers were excited that Blizzard was finally digging into the lore of this incredible hero-shooter universe.
Then, Overwatch 2 debuted in 2022 with early access that was focused on PVP. This concerned the community, but Blizzard stated that the highly ambitious story mode would come out at a later date. Gamers waited, but in the end, Blizzard disappointed everyone.
In 2023, the game’s director, Aaron Keller, confirmed that Blizzard’s plans to bring the story mode for the game shown at BlizzCon 2019 were axed. Even though Blizzard is bringing PvE missions to the hero-shooter, they’re nowhere near the scope that we thought the company would bring with the sequel.
Overwatch 2 might bring back 6v6
One of the biggest criticisms surrounding the Overwatch sequel was the switch to 5v5. As a result, Blizzard released multiple 6v6 beta playlists that would allow developers to collect data and see how the classic mode would work with the current roster. Gamers hoped that the mode would make a permanent return if it went well.
The 6v6 tests are still underway, and Keller has stated that Blizzard is still reviewing the experience it brings. While he confirms that 6v6 is making a return, it’s not in the way that we all had hoped. According to Keller, a new 6v6 experiment will arrive soon that draws inspiration from Quick Play Hacked.
One of the biggest problems with the original game was the long queues with 6v6 format, especially for DPS players, and Blizzard wants to sort this out.
However, the developer still hasn’t stated when or if 6v6 will become permanent. For now, if you’re itching to get the classic Overwatch experience, you can only do so through the 6v6 experimental modes.
With that said, do you think Overwatch 2 made a massive mistake by dropping its story mode? Let us know in the comments below.
This post belongs to FandomWire and first appeared on FandomWire
