Following a live stream on Tuesday, May 17, Blizzard announced that they would end the development of Overwatch 2’s PvE mode. In the video, the franchise stated that it needed to focus on the main storyline and thus would need to end its focus on hero missions. According to their outlook, the team has made epic progress in developing the hero mission and will continue including them in the game like in the past. However, the PvE build felt incalculable, with an inconspicuous ending. For this reason, Blizzard is choosing to focus on the story missions rather than the hero build-ups.
Has Blizzard Cancels Overwatch 2’s Long-Awaited PvE Mode? What You Need to Know
A clarification that I wanted to make is that, while we made the decision to cut Hero Mode + Talents, we have a lot of great PvE content coming this year.
Big story missions, new cinematics, co-op events and single player Hero Mastery missions are all on the way. https://t.co/8aGvlBqVR0
— Jared Neuss (@OhReallyJared) May 17, 2023
In a developer’s video showcase, Blizzard shared that it will be dropping its much-awaited Co-op PvE mode from its roadmap. Instead, the team will introduce a mode that’s somehow similar to the PvE.
During the launch of Overwatch 2, players expected to receive its campaign and PvE too. However, Blizzard decided to withhold the additional content at a later time. At that time, Aaron Keller, the game’s director, explained that they had not completed its development. And instead of delaying the game altogether, they launched the game with the promise to release the PvE in the future.
However, while releasing the Overwatch 2 2023 roadmap, Aaron Keller noted that the PvE creation was taking more of the effort they should be delivering to the live game. He added that Blizzard has now decided to shift most of the focus to developing the live game rather than side missions.
Additionally, Jared Neuss, Overwatch 2’s Executive Producer, shared that they needed more resources to develop the kind of PvE in the plan. With such a development, the team realized it would be better to stick with the main development strategy and leave the Co-op mission aside.
The team announced they have stopped working on the single PvE release and will release new story-based missions instead. Using these mission updates, Blizzard will incorporate the PvE in Overwatch 2 builds, strengthening the live game.
