Overwatch 2 producer claims CEO contributed to delays with "months" of lost dev time

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Developers were reportedly asked to work on "random projects" for the original game

Overwatch
(Image credit: Blizzard)

An Overwatch 2 producer has blamed Activision Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick for the game's ongoing delays.

In the two tweets below, Overwatch 2 producer Tracy Kennedy outlined how CEO Kotick would "shove" development projects for Overwatch 1 on the Overwatch 2 team, requiring developers to work overtime. Kennedy also says that some of those projects would eventually be cancelled, leading to the loss of "months" of development time for the long-awaited sequel. They also claim that "almost entire teams are turning over and citing [Kotick] as the reason."

Kennedy's comments come in light of Kotick blaming the delays of Overwatch 2 and Diablo 4 for the declining stock of Activision Blizzard. In a new interview with GamesBeat following Microsoft announcing the acquisition of Activision Blizzard, Kotick dodged a question about sexual harassment lawsuits lodged against the developer declining stock prices, instead focusing on the delays of Overwatch 2 and Diablo 4 as primary reasons.

The new comments from Kennedy allege that Kotick is a significant reason for Overwatch 2's prolonged development process, however. The sequel to the hero shooter was first announced back in late 2019, but has since been delayed multiple times, pushed out of launching in 2021, and the subsequently delayed out of releasing in 2022. Now, a firm release date for Overwatch 2 appears to be out of the question, and we're simply awaiting further updates from Activision Blizzard.

As for Diablo 4, it's had a similarly lengthy development process since first being unveiled. Revealed alongside Overwatch 2 at BlizzCon 2019, the loot-based action game has only popped up a handful of times since its reveal, showing off a slate of new gameplay details. Just like Overwatch 2 though, it's also suffered from multiple delays, with its creative director even departing the project back in 2021.

Head over to our new games 2022 guide for a full list of all the games set to launch later this year.

Hirun Cryer
Hirun Cryer

Hirun Cryer is a freelance reporter and writer with Gamesradar+ based out of U.K. After earning a degree in American History specializing in journalism, cinema, literature, and history, he stepped into the games writing world, with a focus on shooters, indie games, and RPGs, and has since been the recipient of the MCV 30 Under 30 award for 2021. In his spare time he freelances with other outlets around the industry, practices Japanese, and enjoys contemporary manga and anime.