Overwatch 2’s Origins as an MMO: The Evolution and Challenges of the PvE Transition

The Overwatch 2 developers have revealed that it was initially intended for Overwatch to transition into an MMO following the introduction of the PvE content. Even while a story campaign is still in the works, eliminating portions of the intended PvE content from Overwatch 2 has led to a significant reaction against Blizzard.

The developers have received a lot of criticism for scrapping the Hero Missions, a unique aspect of the intended PvE experience that featured intensely replayable content and particular skill unlocks for every character, despite the story missions debuting in Season 6. Aaron Keller said that the intention for Overwatch 2 was for it to turn into an MMO, similar to the scrapped Project Titan project that gave rise to Overwatch, in a blog post outlining why the PvE Hero Missions were eliminated.

The original plan for Overwatch 2 was an MMO

Keller claimed that after the introduction of PvE, the FPS MMO Project Titan remained the developers’ ultimate goal because it was so dear to their hearts. The Overwatch team was established after Blizzard’s Project Titan game was canceled. The Overwatch team, especially at its inception, considered itself an MMO development team, Keller said. “That game had numerous features, but it was an FPS MMO at its core.

“We included plans to eventually return to that breadth when we shifted from that first vision and began developing Overwatch. Crawl, walking. The run was our strategy. An MMO was run, a focused PvE variant was the walk, and Overwatch was the crawl. Early on, it was ingrained in the team’s DNA, and some of us thought that the final game embodied Project Titan’s initial intent.

We now know that the PvE component’s development did not go as anticipated; Keller acknowledged that the scope was too broad and that the team could not produce a “polished, cohesive experience.” The director is confident that this change will be for the better, adding that the cancellation of Project Titan resulted in “something beautiful” that. Similarly, this shift will pave the way for the future of Overwatch.