There once was a time when Overwatch fans believed that they would be playing Overwatch 2 in early 2022. Unfortunately, Overwatch 2 has been delayed indefinitely, with the current belief being that the game won't be out until 2023 at the earliest. In the meantime, it seems that some Overwatch 2-related merchandise is also being delayed, specifically an Overwatch 2 LEGO set that was scheduled to launch next month.
LEGO partnered with Activision Blizzard to produce a LEGO set for Overwatch 2 based on the Titan robot in the game. The product was meant to launch on February 1, but LEGO has announced that it's delayed the product while it reviews its relationship with Activision Blizzard. LEGO cited concerns about Activision Blizzard's workplace culture, "especially the treatment of female colleagues." LEGO seemingly has concerns that Activision Blizzard is not doing enough to address the issues.
Activision Blizzard is the subject of multiple lawsuits regarding gender discrimination and harassment in the workplace. Activision Blizzard workers have rallied together to demand changes be made at the company, though not all their demands are being met. For example, there was a push to remove Bobby Kotick as CEO of Activision Blizzard after allegations were made about him, including an incident where he allegedly threatened to kill an employee. Kotick is still serving as CEO of Activision Blizzard at the time of this writing.
More recently, Activision Blizzard workers went on strike to protest the firing of Raven Software QA testers. Apparently, the fired employees were actually promised pay raises and were blindsided when they were let go.
Activision Blizzard employees haven't formed a union yet, though it's possible that's the end result of the ongoing controversies. Activision itself seems to think that it's a possibility, as one of its executives sent out a union busting email to discourage employees from forming a union.
As for Overwatch 2, the state of the game remains in limbo. There haven't been any major updates on the hero-shooter's development for quite some time, with Activision Blizzard busy dealing with the fallout of the lawsuits and the like. Presumably, the next Overwatch 2 update would've happened at Blizzcon 2022 in February, but Blizzcon 2022 has been canceled.
In the meantime, LEGO isn't the only company that's evaluating its relationship with Activision Blizzard. Other video game companies and executives have also spoken out against Activision Blizzard in the wake of the lawsuits, so it will be interesting to see what ultimately happens.
Overwatch 2 is in development.
Source: The Brick Fan
