The sequel to the world’s most confusing video game has another surprise that no one wanted or wanted. After canceling his ambitious PvE hero mode years into development, Overwatch 2 plans to charge him $15 for future story missions.
On August 10th, Overwatch 2: Invasion, aka Season 6, debuts, featuring three co-op PvE missions and finally continuing a story that began all the way back. 2016. Missions will span his three new maps set in Rio de Janeiro, Toronto, and Gothenburg, and players will play as either Sojourners, Winston, Mercy, or Cassidy, according to the company. game informers A recent hands-on preview.
These story missions don’t include the ambitious Hero Mode that Blizzard promised when it announced Overwatch 2 in 2019. Hero missions were supposed to include replayable scenarios, randomized objectives, and an expansive talent his tree system that could change your favorite hero’s abilities.
Story missions will look even more similar to the smaller PvE missions Blizzard has made over the years, such as last year’s “Wrath of the Bride” mode. Certain stories He can only be played as certain characters in the arc and costs money to access. It adds new cutscenes and voice lines, but it doesn’t act as a completely separate mode that you can spend a lot of time in like PvP.
Blizzard has revealed exactly how story missions will be marketed. blog post Yesterday, I revealed some additional details with a Blizzard rep.
Here’s the breakdown of PvE story missions in Overwatch 2:
- $15 Overwatch 2: Invasion Bundle required to play story missions
- Bundle contains 1,000 Overwatch Coins ($10) that can be used to purchase battle passes and cosmetics
- The bundle also includes the Sojourn Legend Skin, unlocking her for PvP by completing all story mission challenges.
- Story missions cannot be purchased separately or separately from bundles
- Access to story missions will be permanent
- You can always purchase Story Missions after Season 6 ends.
- If you want to play story missions as a group, everyone must own the Invasion Bundle
Though ultimately downgraded to a “PvE experience”, the $15 admission fee to what was originally the focus of the sequel (no comment on whether it’s free or not) has, understandably, been a hit with many, including myself. upset people. . Blizzard itself seems to be blindsided by the sticker’s shock reaction, but we don’t know why. Sure, there used to be a time when PvE cost money and Overwatch 1 players got his new PvP content for free, but then Blizzard made Overwatch 2 free-to-play and didn’t mention PvE for a year. I did. Given that confidence in the team’s ability to deliver on its promises is at an all-time low, I didn’t expect Blizzard to use this unique opportunity to ask for more funding.
Overwatch’s explosive success is largely due to its diverse cast of characters, satisfying team-based combat, and engaging cinematic short stories. It captured the kind of player who felt neglected by other militaristic, fast-paced shooters at the time. Seven years later, and with the release of the free-to-play sequel, these promising players are now the prime targets of Overwatch 2’s live service monetization model. Overwatch 2’s bazaar-like user experience with the addition of paid heroes, paid battle passes, paid skins, and paid co-op modes means that playing Overwatch for “free” simply roots his box. I seriously miss the times when it was meant to be ignored.
Play Overwatch 2 in PvP and get what you want for free. All new maps and modes cost less than a cent, including Flashpoint, which launches alongside Season 6 story missions. But if you’re one of so many players who’ve invested in a hero, to get a skin for free, pay his $30 or more for a skin and pay for it in all in-game events and on his Twitch. I need to track the drop event. The number of ways Overwatch 2 tries to take advantage of those who love it most is frankly insulting.
It’s a real shame that Overwatch 2’s PvE is such a disappointment, as the rest of the game continues to impress.
All that aside, charging $15 for a feature I just mentioned that is significantly less ambitious than it originally promised seems very greedy. Game Informer’s preview describes one mission they played as “thick gameplay” with cutscenes and cooperative challenges of a kind never before seen in a game. All with the hint that PvE will always be treated as side content that has to be paid for as well.
Just a few weeks ago Blizzard was talking about PvE taking far too many resources away from PvP development, and charging for an unfinished campaign mode is a brazen act.
It’s a real shame that Overwatch 2’s PvE is such a disappointment, as the rest of the game continues to impress with clever new voice lines and events. From hero balance to UI issues, many of the issues at launch have not only been fixed, but greatly improved. Modern heroes such as Lifeweaver and Ramatra have unique kits and personalities that fit right in with the existing cast. And now there’s even a Pride He event, where players can finally express their identity through free cosmetics, and two of the popular characters have been confirmed to be her LGBTQIA+. rice field. This is one step closer to being the non-downgraded kind of game within the game. A webcomic representation that fans have been wanting for years.
Overwatch 2 has made some exciting changes in the last few months that I never expected, especially since I’ve been playing Blizzard games most of my life. However, the response on the PvE side dashed any hopes of getting closer to the original game. And while things change all the time in game development, I can’t help but feel cheated by Blizzard’s long silence on the subject. And while I’m still going to try out the rest of PvE, I don’t blame anyone who ends up plagued by a game that eliminated many of its original goals.