Overwatch 2 Executive Producer took part in the new developer blog for Overwatch 2, dedicated to the Season 1 updates and plans for the future. The developer notes that sharing development plans on a live game like OW2 is risky but the community should know the team’s thoughts early on to establish a better dialogue.
“Please keep your feedback coming: we read it, we’re inspired by it, we use it in our development plans. Ultimately, we need it to ensure that we’re building a game that you want to keep playing for years to come.”
Blizzard isn’t completely satisfied with how everything feels in regards to OW2’s new free-to-play model. The team wants players to feel more rewarded just for sitting down and playing, to have new accomplishments to chase outside of the Competitive Rank and Battle Pass level.
- In short term, the rewards will be changed a bit so that each event in Season 2 will have a skin you can earn by playing in addition to the other cosmetic rewards already offered. There will be more Twitch drops to look out for, as well;
- Long term, for Season 3 and beyond, the team is looking at a mix of Battle Pass changes, more interesting Challenges to pursue, and more exciting play-focused progression systems for players to dig into.
With the move to 5v5, the game is also seeing longer queue times for both tank and damage players, and the team has a lot of ideas on how to tackle the issue. More information will be available once the team settles on their approach to the problem. There have also been some adjustments to the matchmaking system and there will be more noticeable effect on the competitive scene in Season 2.
“Multiple heroes saw balance changes and adjustments in the patch. Notably, Genji and D.Va are a bit less deadly, Zarya is less shield-y and Sombra is less hacky. We feel the changes in this patch are good for the current state of the game, but we’re already planning ahead for more changes at the beginning of Season 2.”
“Players who’ve stuck with us, players who’ve returned, and players who are just now jumping in the fun—thank you for playing Overwatch 2. Reading your posts, watching your clips, and playing alongside you always leaves me humbled. We have an incredible community, and I hope that by opening up about what we’re thinking more, we can keep growing together.”
