During the Omnic Crisis, the United Nations formed a specialized task force to counter the mounting Omnic threat. Led by Jack Morrison, this unified group targeted Omnic control centers across the globe and took down the robotic threat. This highly-talented group of agents strategically dismantled the Omnics forces and ushered in a golden age for the wo

The most apparent is the team size reduction. Overwatch 2 features 5v5 battles instead of 6v6, meaning both teams have one less tank in the fight. Opinions will vary, but I think it’s obvious that this is a huge improvement. Half the number of tanks means half the number of shields, which means fights are more active and exciting. Instead of both teams poking at each other from behind cover until everyone fires off their ults, every match is a constant back and forth. Getting picks has a much greater impact, so it’s easier to coordinate pushes with your team, even if you’re only communicating non-verbally. It’s a simpler, easier to follow spectator experience, which will help the Overwatch League reach a wider audience. Resizing the teams has an effect on every aspect of the game, and it’s been overwhelmingly posit

What Overwatch really needed was the same thing that every live-service game needs: content. While development of Overwatch 2 caused a lengthy drought in the original, Overwatch wasn’t exactly on par with the rest of the live service game market either. A new hero every few months and a rehashed holiday event just weren’t cutting it. There’s a lot of people moaning about the new seasonal model in Overwatch 2, but if they were being honest, most of them would admit Overwatch wasn’t holding their attention. The luster fell off Overwatch after a couple of years, and the quarterly cadence of a new hero or map was not going to keep Overwatch al

Their heroes had flashy, distinct designs, and though there's not technically an in-game story, you can still get a sense of who each hero is. The amount of craft and detail that went into creating each hero's personality allowed players to get emotionally invested in them, something that most other hero shooters fail to achi

However, while the game is still going strong, there are rumors that Overwatch 2 is in development right now . Overwatch still has a dedicated fanbase that plays the game religiously, so releasing a sequel is a bit of a risky move, as it could alienate fans who simply want to stick with their beloved hero shooter and not move

This newly mobile Bastion also comes with a grenade launcher for AoE and rocket-jumping, and his ultimate is now an artillery cannon for bombing baddies anywhere on the map. The only downside to these changes is that Bastion has traded his self-repair for a less useful 'Ironclad' defense buff during these Assault and Artillery mo

With the release of Overwatch 2 , players have been anticipating the exciting PvE story mode and its new enemies . Unlike the standard 5v5, PvE is a different beast entirely, and teams will have to focus on crowd control and DPS, so maybe your beloved Lúcio or Doomfist might have to warm the bench

Overwatch getting shuttered and Stadia getting taken behind a woodshed isn’t the apocalypse. Most titles on Stadia already exist elsewhere and Overwatch 2 appears to be a real video game. This isn’t the end of all things. You can be excited about Overwatch 2 while still admitting it’s a crappy way to treat fans. The suits at Blizzard and Google (I know it’s "Alphabet" or whatever now, but come the fuck on) don’t care about you. Maybe that’s a cliche, but it’s worth remembering because it’s going to only happen more as the "take the money and run" strategy plays out. They’ll promise and swear that your purchase will be good and playable for the foreseeable future and then take that shit away the moment it’s convenient.

The game’s original man-for-all-seasons has thankfully had precious few changes. He was designed to be Overwatch’s balanced pick for new players and FPS lovers, and not much has changed. 76 is a perfect pick for PvE because of his versatil

Even when (mostly) paying people back for their purchases on Stadia, Google is still showing it barely cares about its users. Not every game will allow saves to transfer. Hell, some games specifically designed for Stadia are now in limbo. Quick reminder - the people on the ground making these games are often creative folks who just want to bring something nice to the world. I’m not criticizing the engineers who made Stadia work or the artists and designers who make Overwatch look and play brilliantly. They deserve praise and probably better pay. Which, again, is funny considering these are all greedy companies sucking in dollar bills.

Overwatch 2 might be the first sequel in history that players of the original begged the developers not to make. Through a small handful of gameplay changes and minor visual updates, it just barely manages to justify its own existence. It feels like it’s Blizzard’s attempt to restructure the monetization into a more profitable, industry-standard model, which people have rightly pointed out benefits the publisher, but doesn’t actually provide any value to the players. At first blush, Overwatch 2 Season 16 Skins 2 comes across like a dark tulpa of the original - a product designed to increase profits and engagement without offering anything that meaningfully increases enjoyment. Within the broader context, Overwatch 2 follows this year’s Diablo: Immortal as just another anti-consumer title from a mega corp that used to actually care about its fans and reputation. There’s never been a particularly good answer to the question "Why does Overwatch 2 exist?", and I don’t anticipate there ever will