Game Director Aaron Keller reflects on our initial ambitions for PvE, what led to the change of plans, and what the future holds for Overwatch 2
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Thank you Aaron for providing us with some historical context into why this decision was made.
As disappointing as the news has been for some of us we as players need to empathize with the team and the sheer enormity of the work that they undertook in order to bring us an incredible sequel.
No doubt they poured in many hundreds if not thousands of hours trying to live up to the lofty expectations of the playerbase.
We should appreciate all the work that goes into this game.
It’s also important to remember that Overwatch came as the result of a failed Project - Project Titan.
So great things can come out of failure and I think great things can come out of what you’ve learned from trying to build this PVE experience even if you don’t release that specific implementation of the idea.
This is all part and parcel of the ideation process.
Personally it makes me happy that the focus is on PvP.
I believe the priorities right now should be to:
- Build on the already existing and successful PVP formula - the team is already doing this so I have no concerns here.
2. Make the game more accessible to more players across more platforms - I do have some ideas on this. Click to expand.
- Support for alternative PC OS platforms such as macOS and Linux.
macOS continues to grow as a great platform for games and just recently we’ve had some amazing breakthroughs for the scene.
- What about cloud game streaming platforms?
The Xbox deal is still uncertain and it’s unknown how many years it would take before we actually see OW on many of these cloud gaming services unless Blizzard decides to simply opt into them right now.
- What about mobile?
The Nintendo Switch is great but it’s getting pretty long in the tooth.
Most high-end smartphones of today could easily handle a game like Overwatch at 60 FPS.
Could any info be shared regarding: mouse and keyboard support for console players?
Apparently it was partially implemented already on Xbox when grouped up with a PC player - and as a PlayStation player I would love to get any information on this at all.
One final thing I’ll also ask…
Have you ever considered just releasing some of these hero missions so that we can get a taste of them?
I understand the importance of achieving that “Blizzard Polish” - but even if they’re incomplete they could be pretty fun to test out in the arcade like you did with the test map recently.
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Well, let’s see where this goes.
Edit: it’s a brief history lesson on where the team’s been, and how they became unable to meet the vision they proposed, without actually saying why they couldn’t meet the goals they set. There’s a lot of key information missing here.
As I read the post, I found myself saying, “why couldn’t you get more resources instead of cannibalizing your own team?” “The game was making a great profit initially. Where was the additional investment to grow the property?”
Also, there’s near zero detail on the PVE that’s coming. A very bad sign. Now is the time to show something to give the fans hope. Unless you think the PVE isn’t very strong.
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So are these PVE Archives style missions going to be Free?
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Not really as much new info as I would have liked to have seen (particularly regarding the exact timing when certain decisions were made). A lot of this is just rehashing what was already said in the interview in a more cohesive form.
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Still want to know what you have been doing for the last 4ish years and why you had to put ow1 on life support
and why do you still call this game overwatch 2?
yes I did come back to say this
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BATTLE PASS! I give it 5 minutes before they start shilling that again. TONE DEAF!
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A whole lot of nothing
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Yep, this was the “we cancelled everything you cared about, but we have a lot of exciting stuff coming soon™” blogpost we were all expecting
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“I said I’m sorry so please keep buying the skins now”
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TLDR: BLA, BLA, BLA.
Any excuse is so pathetic.
Im so aware for the people that still believe or defend them.
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Overwatch was born from the ashes of Project Titan. It was a moment of metamorphosis for the team and the project… and something beautiful came out of it. This is another moment of change. And the future of Overwatch will be born out of it
Prove it. You have yet to give any player an inkling of these promising futures you keep telling us. This goes for every franchise under Blizzard right now and its a shame. So much potential and you refuse to do anything with it. Why should anyone believe you and why on earth would you give the idea that the game would become an MMO when we all know you cant even achieve the basic promises you announce. Be better, remove the forced FOMO, live up to promises, and maybe you will be trusted again.
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That post could mean something, if only Blizzard had some credibility left.
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Hi Aaron can you give some details on what you built last 4 years
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I’m down with it.
Never cared for PvE one bit, but still looking forward to see if they’re able to deliver on this “biggest content drop ever” they talked about in season 6.
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Welcome back, Mr President.
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I got this…
The battlepass. Lol
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Well it was an honor to be apart of the overwatch community, more lies and empty promises in this article. I hope the people who stay get rewarded. Gg go next for me
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Same. Hmu when they actually follow through with promises, stop forcing FOMO, stop overly greedy decisions, and treat their employees like human beings
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Disgusting liars. The game is dead to me.
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