Overwatch 2 Will Have No PvE and Skill Tree

Ah yes, who could forget the controversial announcement of Overwatch 2? While people were on the fence over whether or not the first Overwatch even needed a sequel, we’re sure everyone was at least intrigued by some of the things they showed. Perhaps the coolest thing shown in the initial reveal was the promise of a PvE mode and skill trees for every character. Well, you might want to sit down for this one.

In a recent segment released on YouTube, the Game Director and Executive Director of Overwatch 2 revealed that many promises were not going to be kept. Neither will there be paid PvE hero missions, nor will there be skill trees for every character. While there will be some story missions, they’ll be every now and then and will only come with the battle pass.

We’ll be unveiling every promise that was broken by the Blizzard development team as well as what it means for the future of Overwatch 2.

There Won’t Be Hero Missions in Overwatch 2

Perhaps the biggest feature that has been scrapped from Overwatch 2 is the promise of there being paid hero missions that players would be able to play. These missions were to delve more into the backstories of some of the more enigmatic heroes in the game, and players were all for it.

After all, who doesn’t want to know more about the past of heroes like Ashe and Junker Queen? There are comics for this game, sure, but many players don’t have the willingness or the patience to sit through those, and having everything animated would make it so much better.

Well, unfortunately, that did not come to pass. It has been confirmed that there won’t be any PvE hero missions for players to play. What’s worse is that this was planned to be a sort of co-op feature for players to enjoy with their friends, somewhat like the Borderlands games. Because of this, many players were really looking forward to this mode.

The Skill Tree System Has Been Scrapped Too

Do you know what else was revealed alongside the Hero missions? Individual skill trees for every single hero in the game. To ensure that gameplay didn’t get too tedious, players were to be able to upgrade and choose from certain abilities for their favorite players.

However, seeing as how the entire Hero missions concept has been scrapped, the skill tree system won’t be added in Overwatch 2 any time soon. You better start learning how to win more ranked matches in Overwatch 2, because PvE content seems like a fleeting dream.

Why Were These Features Cancelled

With so many features being scrapped, despite the development team working on them for so long, there has to be a very good reason, right? Well, that depends on what you think of the reason the game directors gave.

According to them, they took out the PvE content because they wanted to focus more on getting new content out for their multiplayer-related plans. New maps, new heroes balance chances, and things like that for all the multiplayer game modes.

Although it does make sense for the development team to want to prioritize one thing, the fact of the matter is that the team has already sunk so many resources into setting up PvE. Not only have they already spent so much time and effort into creating the missions the player base was shown back when the entire PvE concept was revealed, but they also made an entirely new engine for it all.

What Does This Mean For the Future of Overwatch

Well, we’re sure you can imagine that this spells some major trouble for the Overwatch 2 development team. Although they’ve stated that some story missions will still be coming to the game, they’ll only be part of the battle pass. If you’ve been around sites like YouTube and Twitter, then chances are you’ve already felt the wave of disappointment wash over you because of this.

The YouTube interview that broke this news to the player base has over ten times the number of dislikes as the number of likes, and the gap seems to just keep getting better. Fans from all corners of the internet have come together to voice their disappointment, and some commentary videos trashing this decision have even gotten millions of views in under 24 hours.

So, what does this mean for the future of Overwatch 2? Well, not much, really. Although the outcry is definitely bigger than the Blizzard team could have expected, at the end of the day it doesn’t really change anything. 

All of the players that have been playing Overwatch 2 till now have been doing so for the multiplayer aspect. After all, no one knew when to expect the PvE content in the first place. Those that have been stuck in Elo hell will continue trying to learn how to get out of Elo hell in Overwatch 2.

However, it’s true that the already terrible reputation of the Blizzard company has just gotten worse. Not only have they been part of MULTIPLE scandals in the past, but the entire point of releasing Overwatch 2 was all the features that have just been scrapped. Without them, is there anything really differentiating Overwatch and Overwatch 2?