Blizzard has dropped a fresh hint about the Overwatch 2 release date.
Overwatch 2 was announced by Blizzard during the BlizzCon 2019 Opening Ceremony.
The sequel was revealed alongside new gameplay footage, which showcased the improved visuals and updated action.
Unfortunately, however, Blizzard didn’t announce a release date for the newly announced sequel.
Blizzard’s Chacko Sonny and Michael Chu have since said that Overwatch 2 is still very much in the early stages of development, which seemingly rules out an early 2020 launch.
In a follow-up interview with VG247, game director Jeff Kaplan discussed plans for the original Overwatch.
Interestingly, Kaplan suggests that multiple new heroes could join the Overwatch squad before the launch of the sequel. This would make a late 2020 Overwatch 2 launch a real possibility.
“We have plans to for at least one new hero to hit the service outside of Overwatch 2,” Kaplan said. “Sojourn is an Overwatch 2 character that we’ve confirmed, so you know it’s not her that’s coming soon.”
After featuring in the announcement trailer, it’s possible that one of the new characters will be Echo.
The robotic character also featured in McCree’s short, and is said to be an important character with an interesting backstory.
Overwatch 2 will continue to feature 6-vs-6 multiplayer matches, primarily as part of a new core game mode called Push.
Overwatch 2 will also feature “a ton of PvE content”, including a complete story experience where players team up to take on AI enemies.
Each of the original game’s 31 heroes will appear in the sequel, as well as multiple new additions. Players will be able to level up Heroes by completing Hero missions.
One of the new maps will be set in Toronto – making it the game’s first Canadian map – while one of the story missions will take place in Rio de Janeiro.
Players of the original game will be able to carry their unlocks over to the sequel, so you won’t need to grind for your favourite returning cosmetics.
You can even play the new maps and as the new characters if you own the original game.