Overwatch 2 PvE reportedly dead, with game’s future riding completely on PvP

Overwatch 2’s future PvE missions have reportedly been canceled and the game will now re-focus its development entirely on PvP, according to a report by Bloomberg’s Jason Schreier.

One of the main selling points of OW2 as a sequel, the first entries in the game’s PvE mission offerings released last summer as Overwatch 2: Invasion. For $14.99, players received access to three missions, a Legendary skin for Sojourn, and in-game currency. But now, it looks as though that will be the last of the storyline offerings from OW2, according to Schreier. OW2 is a free-to-play game relying on microtransactions and DLC as opposed to the original Overwatch, which was a paid premium release. The original game spent years building the world and characters with animated short films, and the story missions showed promise, but are apparently no more.

“Overwatch 2 developers were informed that the company does not plan to finish any of the remaining planned PvE content and will instead double down on competitive player vs. player gameplay, according to the people familiar,” Schreier’s report said.

OW2’s struggles as a live-service game led to the team behind it not getting any bonus checks this month, which has been a staple at Blizzard for years, Schreier said. In 2023, a company policy shift made the bonus checks performance-based depending on the game, so while World of Warcraft and Diablo 4 devs received bonuses, OW2’s did not, according to Schreier.

But with a renewed focus on PvP gameplay and a shift back towards free hero releases, in light of “the majority of the team behind Overwatch 2’s PvE” being laid off in January, there’s reportedly internal hope for that side of the game. “Despite the game’s shaky performance so far, there’s optimism among some members of the Overwatch 2 team that this refocus on PvP will lead to a turnaround,” Schreier said, but noted that hope hinges on key devs not leaving the company due to the missing bonuses and general morale.

The report, which comes on the heels of a similar picture of the game’s PvE plans painted by Kotaku, likely won’t impress many fans and streamers. But for the time being, all of Overwatch‘s eggs look like they’re in the PvP basket.