As Overwatch 2 enters its closed beta, rumors and leaks abound. Beyond graphical upgrades, Overwatch 2 promises plenty of new and exciting features to bring players back to the game. This week, two new potential aspects have been leaked from a highly reputable source – former Senior UI Artist at Blizzard, Jayson Kirby.
Kirby, who worked at the company from 2017-2020, uploaded a set of images and videos on ArtStation showing off the updated design of the Overwatch 2 HUD and menus. In the videos, viewers can spot a section for a “Boss Fight” in the "Play" Menu. Furthermore, Kirby shows off an animation test for guild cards in the game.
In one video, Kirby cycles from the main menu to the quick play section and back again, demonstrating the smooth transition animations. Pausing in the "Play" section, viewers can see “Boss Fight” below the other regularly featured arcade modes, like “Deathmatch” and “Mystery Heroes." In another clip, Kirby is invited to join a guild called “Hanzo Mains;” the video shows Kirby accepting the invite and favoriting the guild, which contains 243/520 members and lists its “peak mobilization” as 8.00 PM (PST). This suggests that guild leaders can set a time when the guild is most active for a greater chance of queing in Overwatch 2 games together.
While these clips are likely two-years-old and show only previsualized footage of the menus, because they come from official early development footage, it remains entirely possible that these features will appear in the final game. As stated, PvE will be making an appearance in Overwatch 2, so a “boss fight” mode could show up. Likewise, clans have been a highly requested feature since Overwatch’s release. This isn’t the first time a rumor like this has cropped up; an official Overwatch blog post from 2021 showcasing the PvE skilltree sees a player with green text beneath their name reading “Clan C9.” Interestingly, in a BlizzCon 2021 Behind the Scenes video, this same green text was blurred out.
Regardless of the leaks, in the video displaying the "Play" menu, keen-eyed viewers can see that the “Playlist Updated” line dates the video as 8/24/2018. While this isn’t conclusive proof of how early in development these videos were captured, these early Overwatch concept designs may not appear in-game at all. Additionally, in the captions for the guild menu video, Kirby writes that it’s for a “fictional guilds card – for fun.”
Without players' hands on the final product, it’s impossible to say just how accurate these designs are to what players will experience later this year. There’s no telling how much guidance Kirby and their team were given while conceptualizing the HUD, though fans will get to find out for themselves when the Overwatch 2 public beta launches only on PC on April 26.
Overwatch 2 is in development.
Source: ArtStation