Heroes Never Die! 'Overwatch 2' Has Finally Been Confirmed

Get ready, heroes: Overwatch 2 is actually coming, and it looks like it's bringing an awesome series of changes with it. Developer Blizzard took to the main opening keynote stage for the official unveiling of the next phase of the popular team-based shooter to announce it to the world. It's been three years since the original Overwatch debuted, so its' just about time for a whole new crop of heroes, stages, and other goodies to be introduced. Here's everything we know so far. 

Overwatch 2 is going to come out of the gate swinging in terms of new content, with expansions in the form of new heroes, maps, game modes, and more of a focus on new story content than ever before. Blizzard played coy about the new Overwatch momentarily, showing a fun look at the "story so far" before jumping into the announcement. Though most of the characters had been separated by the conclusion of Overwatch lore, they came together one more to squad up once more. 

That's where the new Overwatch 2 story mode comes in. For the first time, players will get to experience a viable narrative in the Overwatch universe. Heroes, including Winston, Tracer, Mei, Mercy, Genji, and Reinhardt will be tasked with facing off against the Null Sector, or tons of Omnic robot enemies looking to take over. The new "Zero Hour" cinematic did a great job when it comes to showing off some of the new Overwatch 2 narrative as well. 

As far as what to expect gameplay-wise, the game will feature plenty of fun PvE content, meaning you won't be forced to play only in multiplayer matches alone. Instead, Blizzard noted that players will face off against a multitude of computer enemies in both story levels and more replayable “hero missions.” This also means that you can level up your heroes in these story modes with options to customize their abilities. 

But the game won't be entirely PvE-focused, if that's something you're concerned with. There will be plenty PvP modes and maps as well. There's even a new core "Push" PvE mode, in addition to new maps, mode, and heroes to add to the 31 options currently available throughout the base game. You can look forward to playing as the robot Echo and Sojourn, who Jeff Kaplan didn't reveal much about, but confirmed she would be coming. 

But Blizzard has announced that it will utilize a "shared multiplayer environment." This means that Overwatch players who haven't migrated to the new game will be able to match with players in the new game across maps and using the same heroes. Current players will also be able to use their old unlocked skins and cosmetic items with Overwatch 2. 

It looks like hardcore (and newcomer) players have plenty to look forward to as far as Overwatch 2 is concerned. The game was availalble on the BlizzCon show floor, but hopefully it'll be out for everyone to try soon, too.