Overwatch 2 Announces Content Roadmap, End of Loot Boxes in Reveal Event – CNET

Overwatch 2 has been on a long journey, starting with a BlizzCon announcement in 2019 before two years of virtual silence. But now we’re finally getting a steady stream of information about the game and how it compares to its predecessor. On Thursday, we saw the most detailed look at the future of Overwatch, which gave fans reasons to be hopeful about the shooter’s return to glory.

In a video Thursday, the Overwatch 2 developers released new information about the upcoming free-to-play hero shooter, including the content roadmap for the first two seasons and beyond. The devs spoke about the game’s transition to a live-service model, detailing how that’ll allow them to continue delivering new content to the game for years to come.

When it was first released six years ago, Overwatch made waves throughout the video game world, but as Blizzard shifted its attention and resources to the development of Overwatch 2, the original game stagnated, with no new heroes since April 2020 and no new maps for competitive play since May 2019. Thursday’s event felt like the Overwatch developers acknowledging past mistakes and outlining the steps they’re taking to make sure the new game doesn’t falter.

Here’s what we learned about Overwatch 2, including plans for the first two PvP seasons, the upcoming beta and the new tank hero that I’ll be one-tricking for the foreseeable future: Junker Queen.

Overwatch 2 beta start time

Overwatch 2 is getting a second beta, which is scheduled to start on Tuesday, June 28, at 11 a.m. PT and run through July 18 at 11:59 p.m. PT. Players will be able to play as Junker Queen and play on the new map, Rio — home to the support hero Lucio. You can sign up on the Overwatch 2 beta site. If you really want guaranteed access to the beta and don’t mind putting down some money, you can purchase the Watchpoint Pack for $40 and unlock exclusive skins for Cassidy and Soldier 76.

Overwatch 2 release date

Overwatch 2 will enter early access on Oct. 4. It’ll be available on PC, Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One, PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4 and Nintendo Switch. Players who buy the game before 11 a.m. PT on June 23 will also get the Founders Pack, which includes skins for Sombra and Doomfist, as well as an exclusive player icon and an as-yet unannounced gift. 

Overwatch 2 roadmap: From launch and beyond

The Overwatch 2 developers announced a slew of changes to the game at Thursday’s event. Outside of the move to 5v5, which majorly shakes up the pace of the game, no individual change feels like a titanic shift. However, the sum of the changes should make for a gaming experience that blends familiar free-to-play structures with Overwatch’s unique, vibrant gameplay.

Here’s what we know so far:

• PvP will get new seasons every nine weeks, with a new hero or map added at the start of each season. The devs said the goal is to give each season its own distinct feel, which may include major balance patches.
• No more loot boxes: Each season will have its own battle pass, which will include various cosmetics, including new skins for characters.
• The ranked system is changing. The skill rating, or SR, system is being replaced with a new system designed to give players a better sense of progression, including multiple tiers within each rank. 
• Players will get new tools to help them improve, including a new post-match report designed to tell you more about how you’re performing.
• The game is adding mythic skins — a tier above legendary skins that’ll allow players to customize each skin. Mythic skins also come with unique in-game cosmetic effects.

The new details about season plans might stealthily be the biggest news from Thursday’s event. In the live game, seasons start and end pretty arbitrarily, with nothing to distinguish one from the next. Getting a new hero or map (or both) along with major balance changes every nine weeks will finally give each season of Overwatch its own identity and, most importantly, will give players a reason to keep playing season after season. 

Ahead of the reveal event, I asked Overwatch 2’s game director, Aaron Keller, what will help the game stand out from other free-to-play titles that follow similar seasonal releases. His answer: Overwatch is special. “I think what made the original game stand out — I think that magic is still a part of Overwatch 2,” he said. Keller also thinks the game will continue to draw fans in with its fast-paced gameplay, unique heroes and a long line of exciting releases once the game launches.

Overwatch VP and Commercial Lead Jon Spector added that the biggest opportunity for Overwatch has been that players want more: “They want more heroes and they want more maps and they want to try new game modes and they want to see the story continue and progress.” The free-to-play model will allow the team to continually add new content to the game in a way that the original game couldn’t sustain over the years.

Getting rid of loot boxes is also a welcome change and helps separate Overwatch from the more maligned aspects of the recent Diablo Immortal launch. But we’ll still have to wait for details about the overall business model for Overwatch 2.

Overwatch 2 new hero: Junker Queen

Almost five years after she first appeared on posters in the Junkertown escort map, the queen of Junkertown will be a playable character in Overwatch 2. The newest tank hero is ready to rush into battle and deal some damage. Her abilities will allow her to speed forward, wound enemies, and even drag them near her. We don’t yet have a full breakdown of her abilities, but everything we’ve seen so far screams aggressive, in-your-face playstyle. 

Blizzard also debuted the game’s first cinematic since 2019’s Overwatch 2 announcement trailer. The new cinematic focused on the Junker Queen and her rise to power.

We’ve also seen hints at another hero in the works, likely a support hero. The release date trailer showed a brief flash of a blue fox spirit leading a team forward toward spectral gates. 

Overwatch 2 desperately needs more supports. When Junker Queen arrives in the next beta, tank players will have 10 heroes to choose from, both damage players will pick from a roster of 17 heroes, and two supports will split themselves between just seven heroes — about half as many hero options per player as the other roles.

I asked Geoff Goodman, lead hero designer for Overwatch 2, about that imbalance. He said the team was aware of the issue, that Overwatch had trended toward tanks and supports over time in new hero releases but that the team is now discussing the possibility of speeding up that process. That could potentially mean back-to-back support hero releases. “We want to add more supports,” he said, “and we have some coming post-release.”

Overwatch 2 PvE

The announcement video didn’t say much about the PvE side of Overwatch 2, but the devs did say that the PvE events will start in 2023 as part of the live service. That’s as much as we know right now, but the developers said they’ll reveal more information ahead of launch.