Overwatch 2 is set to be revealed this weekend at BlizzCon according to Rod Breslau, esports reporter for ESPN. Breslau said he spoke to one anonymous BlizzCon source who confirmed the game is real. The sports network also obtained a training document meant for Blizzard's unveiling. Among the details that players will learn about Overwatch 2 are a logo, game modes, maps, heroes and PVE features. Breslau noted that the logo features a small orange "2" in the top right.
According to the document, Overwatch 2 will focus more on narrative content, which to date has been popular among Overwatch fans but mostly existed outside of the game itself. Overwatch 2 will feature a new four-player co-op mode and one mission will include a story taking place in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Hero abilities will still be featured in this new co-op PVE mode. A new game mode for PVP is also set to be unveiled called Push, and it will be set in Toronto. This represents the first new mode in the series since 2015.
Rumors of an Overwatch PVE game first circulated in June when Kotaku reported that Blizzard had begun shifting resources from other projects, including a cancelled Starcraft first-person shooter. Another recent leak hints at a Diablo 4 reveal coming this weekend too, after an ad for an art book featuring Diablo 4 art was spotted in a German gaming magazine.
Blizzard is likely hoping the event generates enough goodwill following the last few weeks of bad publicity where they suspended an esports player for voicing support for the Hong Kong protests, as well as the two casters who interviewed him. This later led to them cancelling two game-centric events, one for Overwatch in New York and another for World of Warcraft Classic in Taiwan, though neither cancellation was directly linked to the public outcry Blizzard has received since the suspension was handed down. Blizzard has since reduced the suspension in half for all three people and returned the esports player's tournament winnings, but it hasn't stopped some from boycotting their games and planning future protests, including some expected at BlizzCon.
BlizzCon will kick off on November 1 in Anaheim, California.
