Overwatch 2 beta first impressions — An unsatisfying wait

pcinvasion.com:

The existence of an Overwatch “sequel” was hinted at all the way back in May 2019, at the height of a competitive push. Overwatch League was destined to become the next big esports event, rivaling the likes of League of Legends in viewership. What better way to catch that wave of popularity than create a sequel? And it wasn’t long until we were introduced to Overwatch 2. Blizzard shot for the stars, branding a mere content expansion as a completely new entry — something that could end up a major marketing blunder.Still, players were eager to try it, and now the beta is live. But not without concerns. The Overwatch 2 beta could have been an interesting shakeup, but is instead hugely disappointing, especially considering the years fans waited with no content.

Let’s address the elephant in the room first before diving into the meat of what’s mediocre about Overwatch 2 in its current beta state. Players went years without updates to the main game, only receiving the occasional deathmatch map, skin pack, or balance patch. On top of that, the tribulations going on over at Activision Blizzard with the company culture certainly didn’t help. Jeff Kaplan, the father of Overwatch, left development midway through — certainly not an encouraging sight. Everything was falling over like a house of cards, and there was a period of time when it seemed like Overwatch 2 wouldn’t come out at all.

But here we are, three years later. Three years later after the original game, left in a derelict state where the only new content we got was non-competitive affairs. Game queues lasted ages, due to a forced role queue mechanic that has carried its way back into Overwatch 2. But hope won out in the end. Surely, Blizzard hadn’t left us in the dark