Overwatch 2 has announced that it will no longer lock new heroes behind a battle pass starting from Season 10. Meanwhile, new reports have brewed regarding the game's PvE story campaigns being deprioritized. Read on to learn more about the updates.
Overwatch 2 Major Shake-Up Starting Season 10
All Heroes Will Be Playable at Season 10 Launch and New Content
With the launch of Season 10 in April, Overwatch 2 confirmed that players will gain free access to all previously released heroes, including heroes like Mauga, Illari, and Lifeweaver. Instead of requiring players to purchase the game's premium battle pass or invest extensive gameplay hours, Blizzard will make Venture and all future heroes accessible to all players upon release.
The upcoming season will also introduce a new hero, Venture, a DPS that uses a unique, drill-like pulse gun. Developer Blizzard clarified that new players will still need to complete the initial user experience to unlock heroes. However, once the original roster of heroes is unlocked, all Overwatch 2 heroes will also become available.
Mythic Shop, Overwatch Coins, New Map and Game Mode
Blizzard also announced changes to purchasing, upgrading, and unlocking Mythic skins - previously available only through the game's paid battle pass. Starting from Season 10, Mythic skins will be available for direct purchase via the Mythic Shop. Seasonal Mythic hero skins from Seasons 1 through 7 were also confirmed to be available in the Mythic Shop starting Season 10. Details regarding pricing and launch of the new Mythic Shop will be disclosed in the next developer update.
Overwatch Coins, the game's premium currency, can be acquired through both the free and premium tracks of the battle pass. Blizzard increased the maximum coin earnings to 600 per season, up from 540. Moreover, the upcoming will introduce the new game mode, "Clash," along with its accompanying map, Hanaoka, in a limited-time trial. The full Clash mode, featuring two maps, is scheduled for release later in the year.
"Beyond heroes and customization, we’re also continuing to look at ways to refresh the core of Overwatch 2's gameplay. Season 9 saw big changes to Competitive and core gameplay mechanics," wrote Blizzard in announcement today. "Our vision in the long term is to maintain a regular heartbeat in the game by consistently introducing new or updated systems, shaking up the meta, implementing rank resets, and introducing new rewards."
According to GamesRadar+, game director Aaron Keller expressed enthusiasm for the recent changes to the game's hero unlock system during a roundtable interview. "We're really excited for this change to the game – and we really do think it's what's best for players and it's what's best for the game."
Reflecting on past initiatives, Keller acknowledged that not all strategies were as effective as anticipated. "Not all of those things we tried were as effective as we wanted them to be," he said. However, he expressed confidence in the game's ability to thrive without locking heroes behind a battle pass.
"We're confident that [by] taking them out, we'll be able to continue to be successful. It's going to allow us to keep making all the cool things we have been making like new heroes, new maps, new game modes, and also we just think that this is the right thing to be doing for all of our players."
Blizzard Higher-Ups Have Little Faith in Overwatch 2 PvE Story Missions
Meanwhile, former Overwatch 2 developers revealed in a recently published interview with Kotaku that they were skeptical about the continued development of PvE Story Missions. Sources said that Overwatch 2 initially aimed to feature expansive co-op PvE elements.
However, development was officially abandoned last summer and replaced with story-based PvE missions. These missions, originally intended for release every 18 months, were a "key component" designed to differentiate Overwatch 2 from its predecessor, with only three added in August 2023.
According to the former developers interviewed by Kotaku, internal sentiment reception of the story missions was described as increasingly pessimistic, with concerns about player reception often dismissed by leadership. "It really doesn’t seem like, even from a business perspective, that Activision or Microsoft have any faith in the PvE," said one source.
Another source claimed that Activision Blizzard wanted the first batch of story missions to deliver substantial results, both financially and in terms of player sentiment, before deciding on continued development of more PvE elements. "You had designers, programmers, artists, QA, all disciplines, on the team constantly making suggestions and ideas to improve, or trying to do the best we could," a former developer told Kotaku, "but it was all either shot down by a few gatekeepers or just ‘there was no point, there was no time."
Likewise, the impact of the January Xbox layoffs on the Overwatch 2 team further compounded the skepticism about the game's PvE content. Among those affected were developers involved in narrative, PvE, and events. While these do not confirm the cancellation of the PvE content outright, the devs were not confident in the likelihood of these missions being further worked on.
Source:
DEVELOPER UPDATE: HERO RELEASES, MYTHICS, AND GAMEPLAY UPDATES
Overwatch 2 Devs Fear Story Missions Have Been Canceled
Overwatch 2 will stop locking new heroes behind a battle pass with season 10
Overwatch 2 is finally giving out all heroes for free up front, game director admits not all
attempts to balance the paywall competitive advantage worked
https://www.gamesradar.com/overwatch-2-was-reportedly-due-to-get-story-missions-every-18-months/
