The original Overwatch debuted in 2016 with twenty-one playable heroes. By the time Overwatch 2 launched in the Fall of 2022, the number of heroes had climbed to thirty-five. With the recent addition of new support hero, Lifeweaver, that number now sits at thirty-seven. While the ever-growing variety of heroes and abilities is a large part of what has made Overwatch 2 and its predecessor so successful, it does present a new dilemma for the developers. With so many heroes, it remains to be seen how Blizzard will keep fans happy with hero distribution across multiple missions when the upcoming story-filled PvE campaign mode launches.
Unfortunately, if the game’s history is anything to go on, not all fans will be satisfied. There are several areas of focus that offer up hints about how Blizzard will handle hero distribution in Overwatch 2. The first is PvE events from the original Overwatch. During the Overwatch Archives event, Blizzard released three separate PvE story missions: Uprising, Retribution, and Storm Rising. In each of these modes, the player and three others would choose one of four characters and then work together to progress through a PvE mission and story. However, this is just one piece of evidence indicating that the number of heroes available to use in PvE could be a challenge for Blizzard.
How PvE Worked in the Original Overwatch
While it’s true that subsequent years would make additional heroes playable in each event, the full story mode for each event only released with four total heroes to play. Across these three missions, a total of eleven heroes were playable. Over six years, the original Overwatch barely managed to fit half of its original roster’s total number into PvE missions - and with Tracer already showing up twice, the developers demonstrated a willingness to repeat heroes before making sure every hero got a turn in the spotlight. This trend might leave some players feeling left out. For example, Junkrat mains haven’t yet had a custom-made, PvE experience for their favorite hero yet.
They’re not alone, since the majority of heroes haven’t appeared in a PvE mode yet either. Blizzard's current roadmap for the game includes releasing a hero roughly every eighteen weeks, which means the competition for PvE opportunities will only grow more intense. The outlook is even more concerning when it is expanded to consider the three different character classes. When taking all of the Archives events across the years into consideration, six of the heroes were DPS, three were support, and only two were tanks. That trend has continued in Overwatch 2 with the game's only PvE story mission so far, Wrath of the Bride.
Fan-Favorites and New Heroes in Overwatch 2
In Wrath of the Bride, players could choose to play as Ashe, Sojourn, Kiriko, or Junker Queen - two DPS, one support, and one tank. While it won’t come as a surprise to long-time fans of Overwatch that DPS players are given more options than their counterparts, this event may have given some additional insight into Blizzard’s mindset when it comes to developing PvE missions - that it will give special focus to newer characters. Blizzard has also shown favoritism toward some heroes over others with how it has distributed animated shorts and cosmetic rewards.
With all of that in mind, there are some fairly easy conclusions to draw. Some characters - most likely established fan favorites and newly added heroes - will receive more content than others. Tracer will continue to get more cosmetics and cinematics than Symmetra, and she will likely receive more PvE missions as well. Additionally, Blizzard makes money by selling Battle Passes and keeping players tuned into its ecosystem. New heroes (by virtue of being locked behind a paywall or quite a bit of grinding when it comes to PvP) accomplish both of those goals, so it makes sense to try to grow player interest in them by featuring them in PvE. There’s always a possibility that Blizzard breaks its established pattern, but unless that happens, the PvE mode in Overwatch 2 will feature the same hero favoritism as the rest of the game.
Overwatch 2 is available now on PC, PS4, PS5, Switch, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
