To this end, Blizzard decided to split Overwatch 2 into two distinct parts. The first part, which was released last October 2022, focuses on the franchise’s tried-and-true PVP hero shooter experience. The developers may have added new heroes, maps, and modes, but it is still very much the same Overwatch experience players know, albeit now adopting a free-to-play system. The second part is the aforementioned PVE content that will launch sometime this 2023. But even after Blizzard fulfills its promised release, the game studio should endeavor to refine and update Overwatch 2’s PVE content just as much as its popular PVP modes.

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What Has Been Confirmed For Overwatch 2 PVE?

According to Blizzard, Overwatch 2 PVE will include mission-based content that plays similarly to past themed events like last Halloween’s Junkenstein’s Revenge: Wrath of The Bride. Players can select specific heroes to complete missions with multiple objectives that net them in-game rewards for completion. Examples of objectives in a PVE mission would be to collect certain items dotted around the map or to defend a specific area from waves of A.I.-controlled enemies. The rewards haven’t been set in stone, but Blizzard will likely add optional challenges to these missions that will incentivize players to complete them more than once.

The biggest draw of PVE and the thing most veteran Overwatch players will appreciate is the inclusion of more lore. Overwatch 2’s PVE content will push the franchise’s narrative forwards in a fully playable and interactive way that the orginal Overwatch failed to deliver. These narrative missions will take place on existing maps (albeit with a few tweaks such as weather effects and scripted events) as well as on maps made specifically for the mode. A PVE setting that seeks to develop Overwatch 2 characters and the world they inhabit will be a nice change of pace. Blizzard touched upon these elements previously in its Overwatch Archives events, but the sequel’s planned PVE content is set to be on a grander scale.

PVE will also see the inclusion of hero talents that allow players to customize their characters’ abilities to make them more useful. One previously shown hero talent was an upgrade to Soldier: 76’s Biotic Field. Whereas Soldier: 76’s healing field is limited to a small space in PVP to make it balanced, PVE allows players to increase the radius and healing effects of the ability without breaking the game. Just to be clear, hero talents will be unique only to PVE and cannot be transferred over to PVP.

A Big Entrance Should Be Followed By A Continuous Presence

With so much content planned for Overwatch 2’s PVE component, it can be hard not to be excited about it. What players should be worried about, however, is how replayable the content will be. PVE modes in games like Overwatch 2 and Apex Legends generally don’t have a long shelf life when compared to their PVP modes. Without enemy players, there is less randomness, challenge, and overall competition. People could end up playing each of Overwatch 2’s PVE missions once before finding out there isn’t much else to do in them. This in turn could lead them to gravitate back toward PVP or even stop playing Overwatch 2 entirely.

The other issue surrounding Overwatch 2’s PVE is how often Activision Blizzard will be able to supplement it with new and engaging content. Overwatch 2’s PVP content is in a bit of a weird place right now. It is still relatively new enough that many people are playing it, but the same old content doesn’t motivate players to grind it out in Competitive mode as much as in Overwatch’s heyday.

If Overwatch 2’s PVE component is to succeed, the developers have to give just as much, if not more attention to it than they currently do with the game’s PVP content. This means fixing bugs, patching overpowered and underpowered elements, and most important of all, constantly adding new and meaningful content. This is the biggest paid segment of the game after all, and players should feel like they are getting their money’s worth. By adding more maps and stories that build upon existing ones (even those that are included in the base PVE experience), the game can ensure that the world of Overwatch will continue to evolve and flourish.

Overwatch 2 is available now on PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, and Nintendo Switch.

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