There is no doubt that the originalOverwatchwas a massive success, and understandably, its sequel is one of the mosthighly anticipated gamesin recent memory. Unfortunately, a reliable leaker for the series has just claimed that the release date forOverwatch 2may be further away than fans had realized.
Overwatch 2is not a traditional sequel, and will be more focused on PVE missions and co-op gameplay. It features a full co-op story arc, as well as Hero Missions that are designed to be highly repayable.Overwatch 2will still have a PVP componentin which two teams of five will compete against each other. Blizzard had previously announced that new class restrictions will be present in PVP, as each team will have to be composed of one tank, two DPS, and two support characters. It has also been confirmed thatOverwatchplayers will be able to play withOverwatch 2players in PVP.
The Twitter user, going by the handle of @Metro_OW, states that the development process forOverwatch 2is taking longer than expect. As a result, it does not seem likely that it will release next year. Metro hopes that this news is false so that everyone can enjoy the game in 2022. This rumor comes from a trustworthy source, as Metro had correctly leaked the new hero Ashe for the original game, as well as importantdetails regardingOverwatch 2before its announcementat BlizzCon 2019. In a follow up tweet, Metro says that this might result in a massive decline in the active player base forOverwatch, as it cannot sustain the audience for another year and a half without major updates.
This news comes as a bit of a surprise, as Blizzard had recently confirmed thatOverwatch 2had passed an important development milestone. Blizzard also mentioned that it will be revealing more information about the game in the coming months. While it does seem like development is progressing well, the latest tweet by Metro signifies that the team may not be able to deliver the product on time. If this leak turns out to be correct, it seems reasonable to expectOverwatch 2to release in early 2023.
While the exact reason for this rumored delay is not clear, the impact of Covid-19 on game development cannot be understated. A lot of games from 2021 have been delayed to next year, with aHorizon Forbidden Westdelay also being rumored. On top of this, the Activision Blizzard lawsuit could have also made an impact of some kind. Regardless of the reasoning, it’s still surprising thatOverwatch 2may not even release in 2022, as the game was announced back in 2019.
Overwatch 2is currently in development for PC, PS4, Switch, and Xbox One.
