The Overwatch universe is practically bursting with potential for interesting stories and cool action set pieces, perhaps ones featuring a giant talking gorilla of some kind. Game director Aaron Keller isn't ruling out the possibility of more PvE content in the future, but trying to make another full campaign is a bigger ask.
Once upon a time, Overwatch 2 was supposed to launch with an in-depth, story-driven, co-op campaign set in the Overwatch universe. Blizzard Entertainment planned to have players upgrade and modify their favorite heroes over the course of the story mode, which was promising to dramatically move the game's world forward in ways that animated shorts couldn't.
Overwatch 2's campaign was eventually canceled and replaced with shorter, simpler, infrequent PvE missions that were also discontinued before the hero shooter's resurgence earlier this year.
Asked about the possible return of story missions while speaking to the press, Aaron Keller said previously released PvE events drove a lot of interest that quickly died down. "When you look at the campaign that we ran, I think that while there was a lot of excitement there, and it did drive the story forward, it didn't really get played the way that we wanted it to." (Thanks, TheGamer.)
PvE missions typically require hefty development resources too, the director explained, which were maybe better spent on cinematics and other narrative formats that can move the story forward without soaking up considerable dev time.
Still, it's not completely over for fans. "I would never discount it," Keller said while speaking about the potential return of playable narrative missions. Smaller experiences that don't impact the main competitive game too much seem like they'll have a better chance, at least.
As for another full campaign - like the one Blizzard tried to make and then scrapped - Keller explained it would be too big an undertaking that would probably require a totally separate team to make "a whole new game."
The Overwatch universe has so many fun characters and cool lore tidbits, I'd happily settle for an animated series instead. Blizzard's president previously teased Warcraft and Overwatch adaptations, too.
