Summary
After the originalOverwatchracked up game of the year awards and put the hero shooter genre on the map, expectations were understandably high for its sequel. Its initial reveal was promising, as the game promised a deep and highly replayable PvE experience alongside a significant update for the critically acclaimed multiplayer. Unfortunately, the launch ofOverwatch 2on June 18, 2025, was far from ideal. WhileOverwatch 2did hit some impressive player milestones when it debuted in early access, it was hit with a startling amount of negativity.
In the year since launch,Overwatch 2has had its share of ups and downs. While the day one bugs and server issues have faded away, the cancelation of PvE was a devastating blow that saw the game briefly becoming theworst reviewed title on Steam. Pricey cosmetics have been endlessly controversial, while controversial balancing choices currently have Tanks incredibly frustrated. Still, it is important to look at the good alongside the bad, and when players do so onOverwatch 2’s one-year anniversary, they will find a game that is slowly moving in the right direction.
Overwatch 2 Is In a Much Better Place, But Still Feels Unfinished
WhileOverwatch 2left early accesswith the release of Season 6, there are unfortunately still parts of the game that feel as if they fit that description. PvE is one that immediately comes to mind, and not just because Hero Mode and Talent Trees will never see the light of day.Overwatch 2’s story is now being delivered as part of the live service model, meaning that batches of missions are released as the seasons progress. Not only does this mean that the story mode may take a few years to finish, adding to the game’s incomplete feel, but players could be stuck with long waits between every mission set. With Seasons 7 and 8 confirmed not to have story missions, lore lovers will be out of luck for the foreseeable future.
Overwatch 2’s newly added Hero Mastery missionsare another example of incomplete content. While it was certainly good for Blizzard to get some of the obstacle courses in the hands of players, as it gives them something else to do between matches alongside a few more cosmetics to grind for, many were surprised to see how few Mastery missions were available upon the mode’s debut. Launching with only Tracer, Reinhardt, and Mercy out of a 30+ hero lineup shows that Mastery Mode has a long way to go. While Sojourn and Winston have since been added, it could take a long time for the roster to be fully represented.
Unfortunately, evenOverwatch 2’s bread and butter, PvP, is feeling the effects of this problem.Game modes like Pushand Flashpoint were fairly well received - at least in comparison to Assault and after Push received some adjustments - but both only offer a few maps. Given the size of Flashpoint’s locations, this makes sense, as each map likely takes a long time to develop. Still, Flashpoint should eventually receive another location, and Push is in desperate need of more than its three play spaces. While it is nice to see new Control maps like Samoa, there is already plenty of Control content in the game. Leveling the playing field and expanding on the newer modes would go a long way to making them feel like they belong.
Despite problems like slow PvE rollouts and neglect for certain game modes, Blizzard has done a lot of work to address the biggestOverwatch 2criticisms. Players can now purchase hero gallery skins with earnable credits, while theOverwatch 2Anniversary shopmeans that they will eventually be able to access certain shop skins without paying real money. Beyond a fairer cosmetic system that allows players to unlock outfits by playing consistently, missed features like On Fire have returned and controversial aspects like map rotation have been removed. Seasonal events have been refreshed with new game modes, avoiding the stale events of the original game, while a deep progression system rewards players for sticking with their favorite heroes.
It is unfortunate thatOverwatch 2launched in such a rough state, and the franchise’s reputation might never recover from what happened to PvE. Still, it is important to acknowledge the progress that has been made thus far, just as fans should highlight the progress that Blizzard still needs to make. While the developer does seem to be listening, as shown by the upcomingRoadhog and Sombra reworks, a live service model should lead to quicker content drops and balancing updates than what players have seen thus far. Hopefully, Blizzard is able to hit its groove soon. The first year ofOverwatch 2’s life brought some important changes and additions, but some of them took far too long to make. Hopefully, come this time next year,Overwatch 2will have reached its full potential.
Overwatch 2is available now on PC, PS4, PS5, Switch, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X.
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