It was leaked and teased at for a while, but Blizzard Entertainment finally made it official at BlizzCon 2019: Overwatch 2 is a thing, and it looks cool.
Here’s a quick rundown of everything new learned about Overwatch 2 at BlizzCon.
There Will Be PvP Cross-Play Between Both Games
This is a big one, and one that will keep the PvP enthusiasts happy. Despite being announced as a sequel to the original game, the PvP modes in Overwatch 2 will be made available in the first game as well, and essentially, both Overwatch and Overwatch 2 players will be able to play together.
According to the game’s official website, “current Overwatch players will battle side-by-side with Overwatch 2 players in PvP multiplayer; they’ll also be able to play Overwatch 2 heroes and maps.”
This is great news for players who don’t care about the PvE and co-op stuff, which is the real meat of the sequel. From what Blizzard is saying at the moment, you’ll basically only have to shell out money for the sequel if you care about the new PvE story content. If not, keep doing what you’re doing.
Overwatch 2 Is All About the Story and Lore
The big headline feature of Overwatch 2 is the inclusion of co-op story missions, where four players will take control of four preset characters to go through a level together, taking down enemies and completing set objectives.
Think of it as something like the Overwatch Anniversary event, where players had to take down Omnics while escorting a payload and holding off waves of enemies at the same time.
Overwatch 2 is set to launch with a handful of these story co-op missions, and while the details are still pretty scarce, we’re expecting something similar to the Anniversary event, but much more fleshed out with more complex objectives.
Replayable Hero Missions
Not to be confused with the aforementioned co-op missions, Hero missions are apparently an entirely separate thing altogether.
These are replayable missions with ever-changing threats and scenarios, according to the official website. Enemy types will change over time, and so too must your strategies for dealing with them.
In addition to that, Overwatch 2 will also feature RPG-like elements where you can level up each individual hero and unlock new abilities. For instance, Tracer’s Pulse Bomb Ultimate now has a Chain Reaction variant where the bomb can explode and affect nearby enemies upon detonation, while Reinhardt now comes with a 360-degree ground smash with his hammer.
The Other Stuff
Those are all the big features coming to Overwatch 2, but there’s a ton of other smaller, exciting details to take note of as well.
- Enemy factions: Null Sector and Talon will be the main enemy factions featured in the game.
- It has a new kickass soundtrack: The Zero Hour cinematic features a brand new theme for Overwatch 2, which essentially sounds like a continuation/evolution of the original main theme.
- New look: Some of the heroes are getting a slight refresh to their look, and Overwatch 2 aims to be more graphically detailed as well.
- Sojourn: Sojourn is an original member of Overwatch, and was revealed in the cinematic and gameplay trailer as the latest addition to the roster.
- New PvP Mode ‘Push’: Not to be confused with the Escort mode, Push is a new PvP mode where both teams will fight to take control of an objective in the middle of the map, and try to push it into the enemy’s base.
- New maps: Three new maps have been revealed. They are Toronto, Gothenburg, and Monte Carlo.
Overwatch 2 doesn’t yet have a set release date or window yet, but we’ll keep you updated as more info comes our way.
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