Blizzard is scrapping its plans for Overwatch 2’s Hero Mode. The company promised the arrival of that co-op PvE mode when announcing the game in 2019. Instead, the studio will focus on its live service roadmap, containing other co-op content.
Overwatch 2 director Aaron Keller confirms in a live stream that Hero Mode has been dropped. Keller reports that Blizzard is “unable to deliver on the original vision for PvE.” In an interview with Gamespot, the director says that Blizzard is “still committed to PvE”, but that such game modes are delivered in a different way than initially discussed.
Blizzard is shifting its focus to the live service aspects of Overwatch 2. In a new roadmap, the company said that later this year the first story missions for the game appear. Such co-op missions will become available in the game’s sixth season. That season should start in mid-August. Two new heroes are also planned for this year.
Hero Mode was to be a co-op mode with a focus on PvE in which players fight collectively against computer-controlled enemies. Hero mode missions would always be available and replayable. The mode had to be equipped with a progression system with talent trees, that allowed players to make their characters permanently stronger. Blizzard already talked about that mode when Overwatch 2 in 2019 was announced. The game released previous years in early access.
