ESPN recently published a post detailing a ton of leakedOverwatch 2information, confirming that the game will be revealed at BlizzCon 2019, that it will feature PvE along with PvP, that it will have new heroes, and more. Another leaker, Metro_OW, who has accurately leakedOverwatchinformation in the past, has expanded on the claims in the ESPN article. According to Metro_OW,Overwatchas fans currently know it will be “scrapped” and replaced byOverwatch 2in an update, as opposed to Blizzard releasing a brand new game and splitting up the community.
Metro_OW compared theOverwatch 2release toFortnite: Chapter 2. For the uninitiated, Epic Games released a significant update forFortnitedubbed “Chapter 2” that completely replaced the original battle royale map and added a number of brand new gameplay mechanics. Apparently, Blizzard is looking to do something similar withOverwatch 2. This way, it will be able to hang on to the large playerbase it has established with the original game, and it would instantly have millions of players available to play the sequel.
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While this would be somewhat surprising for Blizzard to do, it makes sense for a number of reasons. Besides the aforementioned ability to keepOverwatch 1’s install base, this would also allow Blizzard to get rid of loot boxes forOverwatch 2. The use of loot boxes in video games has become increasingly controversial, and the practice has been outright banned in some countries.Overwatch 2could be the company’s chance to drop them completely and not have to worry about any potential loot box-banning legislation down the line.
Another reason why this would make sense is thatOverwatch 2will reportedly have PvP alongside its4-player co-op PvE campaign. With the sequel having PvP, it would split theOverwatchcommunity up, potentially hurting both games. This way, Blizzard can create a brand new experience withOverwatch 2while still keeping the community intact.
This may sound like great news for some players, though others may be disappointed that the originalOverwatchwill apparently cease to exist. This may even mean thatOverwatchskins that players played to get, and some even paid real money to obtain, will be lost in the transition as well. That has been rumored in the past, though it remains to be seen if that will happen or not. If so, Blizzard will likely be facing some pretty significant backlash from hardcoreOverwatchplayers.
On the bright side, if this information is accurate, it would mean players can get their hands onOverwatch 2without buying a brand new game. They will supposedly be able to just update the originalOverwatchgame that they already have. We’ll find out atBlizzCon 2019on Friday, November 1 if there’s any truth to this, and in the meantime fans should treat all of theseOverwatch 2leaks with a healthy amount of skepticism.
