From MOBAS and MMORPGs, to open-world survival games and extraction shooters, PvPvE comes in many flavors and caters to a broad audience, but that does not automatically make it a good fit for Overwatch 2. Blizzard could find a way to craft an enticing and rewarding PvPvE experience in Overwatch 2, but its role-based competitive design poses challenges for the studio, so perhaps sticking to its strengths while fine-tuning its forthcoming cooperative PvE mode is the right choice.
Several weeks into season 4, Overwatch 2 has hit a decent stride in terms of new content and adequate balance. Its new support hero Lifeweaver is a breath of fresh air, whose kit brings unique, exciting mechanics to the game. While the initial launch of Lifeweaver had them underperforming in the meta, Blizzard has already released a patch to address the issue. Fans are enjoying the new season, but some already have their sights set on season 5, which, if patterns are anything to go by, should contain a new map, battle pass, limited-time game modes, and maybe some quality-of-life features. Others are looking further on the horizon, to the PvE portion of Overwatch 2, promised by Blizzard in its original announcement.
The Other Half of Overwatch 2
PvE in Overwatch 2 remains a mystery to its players, many of whom have already bought into the experience with Overwatch 2's paid version. Of what Blizzard has shown, most was revealed long enough ago to wonder whether it still exists in its current form. The studio has been hard at work on what was advertised as the other half of Overwatch 2, which will push forward a narrative fans fell in love with through a series of masterfully-crafted cinematics released throughout Overwatch's tenure. The snippets of PvE gameplay have left gamers speculating, with the best guesses leaning toward it containing wave-based missions with role-based co-op. A talent tree was shown, prompting questions about progression systems and replayability, and there are hints to suggest that missions will have side objectives, foreshadowing degrees of difficulty. More will be known on May 9 with the release of the Starwatch game mode, which Blizzard has claimed will offer a glimpse into Overwatch 2's PvE elements.
Despite several missteps, Blizzard's pedigree sparks optimism that Overwatch 2's PvE mode will be far more than just an afterthought to its wildly popular PvP. The world, lore, and characters created for Overwatch are richly-detailed and rife with potential for storytelling. If Blizzard can stick the landing, creating a worthwhile gameplay loop with proper incentives, advancing the story of Overwatch in a compelling fashion should come comparatively easy, given the rock-solid foundation it is built on.
PvPvE Could Work in Overwatch 2, But it Might Not be Worth the Effort
One path to bridging the gap between Overwatch 2 in its current iteration and the rollout of PvE could be a hybrid PvPvE mode. Of the wells of inspiration Blizzard could pull from, perhaps the most workable within the game's design would be a mode similar to Destiny 2's Gambit. Tasking two teams with completing a PvE objective in a race against one another, with mechanics implemented to affect the other team's progress feels natural in Overwatch 2's role-based gameplay. In Gambit, a player can invade the other teams battleground in order to take them out and delay progress, something a flanking DPS would be perfect for while a tank and healer work together to grind down waves of mobs.
While a PvPvE mode could work, it seems better served as another in a long string of Blizzard's limited-time game modes for Overwatch 2. While Gambit is a thrilling prospect, the reality is it is one of Destiny 2's more underappreciated activities and woefully neglected by Bungie. There is a ton of potential for PvPvE in Overwatch 2, but putting too much stock in it could wind up as a mistake.
Overwatch 2 is available now on PC, PS4, PS5, Switch, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
