« Starting in 2023, you can experience a new chapter in the Overwatch saga in a series of intense PvE missions that will immerse you in the second Omnium Crisis. Join the forces of Overwatch and take on the dreaded Zero Sector across the globe “, can we still read on the official site of the game. In fact, it will actually be necessary to be satisfied with scripted missions which will make their debut in season 6. Well aware of the extent of the disappointment that the announcement would cause in the community, Blizzard had prepared an interview with GameSpot in addition to explanations transmitted live by executive producer Jared Neuss and director Aaron Keller.
Blizzard lowers its ambitions
« The development of the PvE experience hasn’t quite progressed as we would have hoped. The team has created a whole lot of amazing content: really exciting missions, really fun new enemies to fight, and really awesome hero skills. But unfortunately, the effort required to bring all of this together into a Blizzard-quality experience is enormous, and there’s not really an end in sight, or a date when we’ll be able to make this available to players. We are therefore faced with another difficult choice. Do we continue to put all this effort into PvE, hoping that we can release it one day, or do we stay true to the set of values we’ve aligned ourselves with, focusing on live play? »
Explanations from Jared Neuss that can be summed up more simply by guessing that some people at Blizzard have found PvE too unprofitable compared to the work required and compared to PvP. The fact remains that the snub is spectacular given that Blizzard had promised to strengthen itself and to put the package on its major franchises, of which Overwatch is supposed to be a part until proven otherwise. Farewell, therefore, to the prospects of this PvE mode, which included talent trees for heroes and a progression system over time.
« With everything we’ve learned about what it takes to exploit this game to the level you deserve, it’s clear that we can’t achieve the original vision of PvE that was shown in 2019. That means we won’t be offering no dedicated hero mode with talent trees, nor long-term power progression. These things are just not part of our plans anymore. We know this is going to disappoint a lot of you, so that’s why we wanted to talk about it before we talk about the roadmap, and to be completely honest, it’s been very difficult for a lot of people in the team. who have put their heart and soul into this. »
Players will, however, be able to experience some of what Blizzard had designed for this cooperative mode as part of its usual roadmap, starting with the story missions of season 6 which should begin sometime in August. ” We’re kicking off our first major story-based event, with a new series of missions, which will kick off an all-new story arc for Overwatch. “, announces director Aaron Keller. Note that the cancellation of the mode will not lead to dismissal, the whole team now being invited to feed the PvP seasons.
