All PvE changes to Overwatch 2, explained

Overwatch 2 fans with a hankering for some PvE gameplay might want to try a different title, with Blizzard recently unveiling sweeping changes to its PvE game plan.

Back in June 2022, the Overwatch developers promised a series of game-changing shifts to the FPS after scrapping the franchise’s first iteration. In the long wait between the initial sequel announcement and its arrival, PvE was one of the most highly anticipated modes among Overwatch fans—but, alas, it is no more.

The long-awaited PvE mode has been canned, and now it’s a shell of what it could have been. The devs dropped the news in a May 16 stream, and now Overwatch gamers finally understand what it’s like to have the rug ripped out from under them.

All the changes to Overwatch 2’s PvE mode

This bombshell caught fans off-guard, with most players gobsmacked by Blizzard’s decision to flip the PvE plan on its head.

The PvE mode was once expected to be a series of external missions that would keep the player base entertained while matchmaking refused to work. Now, due to drawing focus away from Blizzard’s live-service systems, the PvE mode will be a collection of challenges instead.

Blizzard now plans to have cooperative events in place of the PvE mode. Players will receive seasonal missions in lieu of our sought-after friendly mode.

Game director Aaron Keller explained: “As work slowly continued on Overwatch 2, we began to pull more and more of our focus and energy away from the live game. We had a difficult choice to make. We could continue working on our original vision for Overwatch 2 without a definitive end date in sight, or change our strategy.”

This cataclysmic cancellation has left many players questioning why Blizzard decided to release Overwatch 2 in the first place.

Fans can take solace in the fact we’ll get a version of cooperative PvE, just not in the way any of us thought or wanted. Hopefully, this means the devs can focus on all the glitches plaguing every season launch instead.

Blizzard has not yet dated when the new co-op modes will hit servers.