It’s been over a year since Blizzard revealed Overwatch 2 at Blizzcon 2019, and information on the sequel has been pretty scarce since then. However, the company has already confirmed the game will be making an appearance at BlizzConline, the digital alternative to the convention in the face of the coronavirus pandemic. The event is set to take place on February 19 through 21, but news coming from a reliable BlizzCon leaker has put the status of the game in question.
Metro, an Overwatch streamer with a track record for accurately leaking BlizzCon content surrounding the hero shooter, has revealed the game may actually be delayed due to a slow development cycle. He said this on a recent stream when asked by a viewer if he had “any thoughts on Overwatch 2 release.”
“‘Any thoughts on Overwatch 2 release?’ What do you mean thoughts? Like leaked release dates? Or do you mean what I think? I’ve heard things. I’ve heard that they’re really fucking slow, and they’re delaying it. I heard they’re really slow at developing it. From what I’ve heard it doesn’t sound good at all. It sounds like it’s really far off.”
Metro went on to say that we would likely see new hero reveals for Overwatch 2 at BlizzConline, as there’s “not much else to show.” So it’s unclear if we’ll see more of the game’s cooperative missions or any new competitive content next month. Hopefully they at least show the Soldier: 76 redesign. I’m an easy man to please.
You can watch the full clip from Metro’s stream here.
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For context, Metro has accurately leaked BlizzCon Overwatch showings several years in a row. Including Ashe being revealed as a playable hero in 2018, and the details of the animated short that would accompany the official announcement of Overwatch 2 the following year. The sequel never had a solid release date, or even a window, but last year, changes to the Overwatch League implied the sequel could have been out by April. This was mainly because the competitive league was changing its timeline around, leaving fans to wonder if this was so players could jump in with Overwatch 2 rather than the original game. However, if what Metro’s heard is true and that development is not going according to schedule, we might not see the game until late 2021 or maybe even 2022. It’s likely changing to a work from home setup has been hard on the team, as several studios have run into during the coronavirus pandemic.
Just what this means for Overwatch’s content rollout in 2021 is unclear, as the game has been suffering a content drought while Blizzard works on the sequel. Echo was the last playable hero added to the game, and Blizzard has said she is the last the studio will be adding before the release of Overwatch 2.
It was recently announced Vicarious Visions, the studio most recently behind the recent Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 1+2 remake, had been absorbed into Blizzard, leading to speculation that it would be helping with Overwatch 2. But according to a report from Bloomberg, the studio’s development team is working on a remake of Diablo II.
In the meantime, Overwatch has been getting a fair amount of lore through comics and short stories, including a new comic series starring Tracer and a short story that finally gave some underserved heroes some love. Last year, a whole novel was released that focused on Orisa, Lucio, and Doomfist, and a second one seems to be in development that will tell the story of Ashe and McCree’s rocky relationship. Hopefully Blizzard and friends take some of our suggestions for future Overwatch books, because I’d love the angsty gay romance novel that would come from exploring Soldier: 76’s backstory.
