Overwatch 2 is shifting its PvE mode away from its original plans

destructoid.com:

Blizzard is changing its plans for the long-awaited Overwatch 2 PvE mode. In a developer update today, the company confirms that it’s scrapping its original plans for the mode, pivoting its PvE side into the seasonal content structure of the game.

Back in 2019, Blizzard Entertainment officially unveiled Overwatch 2, a follow-up to its 2016 hero shooter. Alongside updates to the PvP multiplayer side, there was a PvE mode shown off. Players would choose a hero, squad up, and tackle missions where they could level up talents and maintain some level of long-term progress.

This mode felt like a big reason for the “2” in Overwatch 2, but it eventually fell by the wayside. Overwatch 2 launched last year without its new PvE mode, and the question of when it would arrive has floated around until now.

In today’s Overwatch 2 Dev Chat, executive producer Jared Neuss says it seemed like there was “no end in sight” and the team faced a difficult choice: leaving the original vision for the PvE mode behind.

“With everything we’ve learned about what it takes to operate this game at the level that you deserve, it’s clear that we can’t deliver on that original vision of PvE that was shown in 2019,” said Neuss. “What that means is that we won’t be delivering that dedicated hero mode, the talent trees, that long-term power progression. Those things just aren’t in our plans anymore.”

Neuss says it’s “been difficult” for the team, as many “poured their heart and soul” into the mode.

There are still plans for some amount of PvE, though, as game director Aaron Keller outlines.

“Going forward though, rather than doing a big, one-time PvE release, and rather than pouring all of our efforts into these singular releases, we’re planning to make co-op