Overwatch 2 loses executive producer as game enters “final stages of production”

Blizzard's Overwatch 2 is saying goodbye to executive producer Chacko Sonny, after the executive revealed he would be leaving the company this week. Bloomberg revealed that Sonny's last day with the company would be Friday, and that he was seen internally as a "stabilizing force" on the game's development team. 

"Chacko Sonny is leaving Blizzard to take some time off after 5 years of service," Blizzard told GamesRadar in a statement. 

"The deep, talented Overwatch team is making excellent progress on Overwatch 2, and thanks to their hard work, the game is in the final stages of production. We’ll be sharing more at the Overwatch League Grand Finals later this month."

The Overwatch 2 team also lost game director Jeff Kaplan earlier this year, with Aaron Keller, previously the assistant director on Overwatch, stepping into his shoes. While Overwatch 2 is still without a release date, losing two major executives from the development team is significant, especially as there are rumors that the sort of sequel/sort of update could potentially be set for Q2 2022.

Blizzard has confirmed that an early build of the game will be used for the Overwatch World League's (OWL) 2022 season next April (lining up nicely with those release date rumors) and we're getting that new Overwatch 2 information Blizzard mentioned - including updates on Bastion and Sombra - on September 25 during the Overwatch League grand finals.

While Bloomberg reports that Sonny made no reference to it in his departure announcement, the move comes as Activision Blizzard faces a lawsuit over its treatment of staff. 

For all the details you need to know about the ongoing lawsuit facing the Overwatch publisher, you can read up on our Activision Blizzard lawsuit explained article for more.