0 comments

Overwatch 2 Announced at BlizzCon 2019

by Gary Bailey on November 1, 2019

Tonight has been good to fans of Blizzard. BlizzCon 2019 has already given us Diablo IV and now it’s also given us the first look at Overwatch 2. Yes, Overwatch 2 is real and it’s looking real good. Punctuated by probably the best animated short so far.

The animated shorts have given us quite the glimpse into the story behind Overwatch, which is probably why Blizzard is bringing Story Missions to the sequel.

Players will experience the advent of a new Overwatch as Winston, Tracer, and other members of the original Overwatch join forces with a new generation of heroes. Players will take an active role in the Overwatch saga as a new global crisis unfolds through a series of intense, high-stakes four-player missions. As the story progresses, players will team up as different sets of heroes and fight to defend the world from the omnic forces of Null Sector, uncover the motives behind the robotic armies’ attacks, and come face-to-face with rising new threats around the globe.

There are also Hero Missions, which sees Overwatch heroes deploying around the globe to defend cities against various threats and overwhelming odds. You will also be able to level up your heroes, supercharging abilities for co-op play, such as upgrading Reinhardt’s Fire Strike to ignite nearby enemies. This will give players the edge needed to overcome the extra challenge.

These new missions mean an upgraded engine, supporting bigger maps and, of course, prettier visuals.

The familiar 6v6 PvP game will obviously return in Overwatch 2, with new characters and new maps, not to mention a new Push game mode. Push sees teams competing to make an adorable robot push the map’s objective to the other team’s side. Seems like a bit of a twist on the payload-pushing mode of the original.

Interestingly, current Overwatch players will be able to play PvP with Overwatch 2 players, including new maps and characters. How far that extends, remains to be seen.