Overwatch 2 Announcement at BlizzCon 2019 Almost Certain
Overwatch 2 is all but confirmed to be revealed at this year’s BlizzCon, which begins Friday, November 1. While Blizzard hasn’t officially announced the game, several sources close to the developer have marked Overwatch 2's debut for this coming weekend.
Rumors of Overwatch 2 have been swirling for months. It first made headlines in June when it was reported that a first-person shooter based in the StarCraft universe had been cancelled to make time for Overwatch and Diablo sequels. The cancelled StarCraft title reportedly ran on Overwatch’s engine, so the transition of that team to Overwatch 2 would make sense. Overwatch 2 is expected to contain some PvE elements, something that’s been repeated in subsequent leaks. While these rumors are unconfirmed, they come from sources that have a track record of reliable leaks, and some of the details match what’s been revealed in the newest leak.
The newest Overwatch 2 rumor comes from a BlizzCon training document reportedly given to ESPN. According to ESPN, the document again mentions PvE coming to Overwatch 2 in the form of a four-player co-op mission set on the Rio de Janeiro map. While details are scarce, it sounds similar to the co-op seasonal events that Blizzard has run in the original Overwatch. In addition, the sequel will reportedly feature a new mode called Push, which will debut on the new Toronto map. Finally, the leak says that a new hero character will be added to the roster upon Overwatch 2’s release. There has been some speculation the new hero would be Echo, an omnic character who appeared alongside Ashe in the BlizzCon 2018 trailer, but ESPN's reporter said in a tweet that that was likely not the case.
While developers don’t generally take kindly to leaks, Blizzard may be feeling lucky to have Overwatch in the spotlight this week. The biggest news from the company lately has been its handling of Hearthstone player blitzchung’s support of Hong Kong independence during a recent stream, which brought Blizzard criticism from fans, employees, and even U.S. lawmakers.
All signs point to this year’s BlizzCon being incredibly important for the developer. On top of the massive damage to its reputation over its treatment of blitzchung, Blizzard must be hoping to avoid another disaster like last year’s announcement of Diablo Immortal. While it still hasn’t shown any signs of making up for its political flub, the expected announcements of Diablo 4 and Overwatch 2 could at least help restore players’ confidence in Blizzard’s upcoming games.
Source: ESPN