Overwatch 2 game director Aaron Keller has offered some clarification about the apparent cancelation of the hero shooter's planned co-op campaign. When Overwatch 2 was first revealed, the promise of a story-based campaign mode was its main selling point. Unfortunately, the campaign experience as it was shown to Overwatch 2 fans at BlizzCon 2019 has since been scrapped, though it may be quite as catastrophic as it sounds.
The Overwatch 2 PvE was always meant to encompass Story Missions and Hero Missions, according to a new blog post by Aaron Keller. Hero Missions, or Hero Mode, would allow Overwatch 2 players to level up specific heroes in the game and progress through talent trees to provide a "deeply replayable version" of the Overwatch 2 PvE experience. Hero Mode is what has been canceled, but that doesn't mean substantial story content isn't still coming to Overwatch 2.
Overwatch 2 is still getting Story Missions, which are promised to be fast-paced co-op experiences with "story, cinematics, and cutscenes." Story Missions in Overwatch 2 will tell a linear narrative about Overwatch's reformation and the group's battle against the villainous Null Sector group. The first Story Missions in Overwatch 2 will be released during Season 6, which will also see the introduction of a new Support hero. It's unclear at the time of this writing if Overwatch 2 Story Missions will be permanent additions to the game or if they will only be available for a limited time.
That big question remains to be answered about Overwatch 2 Story Missions, but Keller is confident in the team's work. "The work done here is amazing, leaps and bounds above what we've built for PvE previously in our game, and I can't wait for our players to get their hands on [the Story Missions]. We'll be sharing more details there in the coming weeks."
Previous Overwatch 2 PvE experiences have been limited-time seasonal events that have garnered a mixed response from the community. While some fans have enjoyed Overwatch 2 PvE modes like Junkenstein's Revenge, others have criticized them for their limited-scope. Hopefully the new Overwatch 2 PvE Story Missions are able to deliver something that satisfies all fans of the game and helps make up for the canned Hero Mode.
While fans wait for the first Overwatch 2 Story Missions to arrive with Season 6, they can continue enjoying the Season 4 content and look forward to what Season 5 has in store. The recently released Overwatch 2 roadmap looks extremely promising, and hopefully the new content will be enough to keep fans engaged as well as bring back lapsed players.
Overwatch 2 is out now in early access for PC, PS4, PS5, Switch, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X.
