They are already nearing the core of the earth, but Blizzard is still digging their grave deeper. We have discussed in length how Activision Blizzard has essentially killed their most recent game, Overwatch 2, with the gut-wrenching news that the promised PVE mode will no longer see the light of day. The company has gone on record saying that the mode is no longer suited for their “vision” for the game, and people are understandably furious.
However, despite all the controversy Blizzard was already in besides Overwatch 2, they decided to double down on their actions by releasing a half-baked apology that borders on gaslighting without addressing the key issues brought up by the community. Things just got worse for Activision Blizzard, but how bad is this “worse”?
Band-Aid Over Bullet Holes: Keller’s Apology & The Future Of Overwatch 2
Would love a gamemode where we could try out the barebones talent system from 2019 🥲
Imagine PVP, but you get to choose your abilities (only featuring heroes that were finished up) pic.twitter.com/npg27Qo8Ju
— Overwatch Cavalry (@OWCavalry) May 19, 2023
In a blog post made by the game director of Overwatch 2, Aaron Keller, he first addressed the state of the game and apologised because they cannot live up to the original vision presented back in 2019. He claims that the PVE mode isn’t “cancelled outright,” as some elements of it will be preserved, and calls it a “change in approach” to the whole system they have made.
There are two main systems built in: “Story Mode” and “Hero Mode”. Story Mode features a co-op story that will progress the narrative that the Overwatch universe has and was built upon. Hero Mode is a mode “that allowed players to upgrade individual heroes through talent trees, providing a deeply replayable version of PvE in Overwatch 2.” It was the latter mode that players were excited for and what is ultimately getting butchered. It was this mode that would complement the Story Mode; with each character having different upgrades than the last, players could replay old missions in a variety of new ways. Yes, the PVE mode is coming, but the community at large is disappointed as it is only a shell of what was once promised.
Keller goes on to explain that they were excited for the concept of PVE while the first game was still popular and active; they built incredible things with the plan, such as new enemy models, some character trees, and new maps, but they were unable to combine them all into a cohesive product that worked. As a result, this caused a content drought by the tail end of the first game, as many developers were shifted to work on this mode.
He admits that he and his team have woefully mismanaged the scope of the project and have noticed that they can no longer deliver on their promise. A major complaint by the fanbase is that if the developers knew they could not deliver on this hero mode roughly a year ago, why did it take them so long to announce the official cancellation of this mode? Keller does address this concern; he gave insight into the thought process they went through behind closed doors, but it does not answer the question of why it took them so long to announce the cancellation. To close out the post, he gave a deep apology about all this and reassured that the team will work on other aspects that were promised back in 2019.
Asking For Forgiveness Is One Thing, Being Forgiven Is Another: The Community Backlash
On Twitter, the post has had a mixed reception; some were sympathetic to the issue, most were angry and felt they had been manipulated, and others tried to cope by posting memes about the issue. The same thing can be said of the official forum, where people can directly comment on this blog post. There are some with understanding comments, but posts with more likes and comments are the ones that express a more negative take on the situation.
People feel they had been lied to, and rightfully so, as the Story Mode alongside the Hero Mode was the major hook Blizzard used to get players into the game.
Our Hot Takes
Players have spent dozen times more money on OW2 than OW and then you have audacity making excuses about not adding PvE in. How about using all the extra resources you were entrusted in good will to hire more devs and actually delivering on your promises for change?
— Arch iDealist (@Arch_idealist) May 19, 2023
We can’t help but say the fault lies solely with Blizzard as a whole. They have repeatedly lied to their players and even gaslighted the community. Early on in the article, Keller used the phrase “change in approach”, but people are quick to rebut that it is not a change in approach but an outright downgrade, and they are not happy with this sly change of phrase. And with their current stance right now, people feel manipulated enough, and they are against further attempts at manipulation from Blizzard.
The recent announcement was nothing short of a massive rug-pull for the whole community, as many people held on to the game in hopes of getting what was shown to them back in 2019. It would have been alright if they did not announce this lost feature as a core part of their game, but it was; perhaps the whole situation would not have spiralled out of control further if they had just been honest that they could not deliver on their promises a year ago.
Keller has stated that, despite this setback, they are still optimistic about the future of Overwatch. Unfortunately, people are not sharing the same sentiment on the situation. What further justifies this attitude that the internet has is Keller’s enthusiasm about the Story Mode when he has nothing to show for it. Regardless, these are the expectations that they have set for themselves and yet failed to meet, and, despite being a painful pill to swallow, they only have themselves to blame.
Source: Blizzard Forums
