Muselk warns Overwatch 2 won’t do enough to save dying Blizzard franchise

YouTube star Elliott ‘Muselk’ Watkins has warned Overwatch 2, the long-awaited sequel to the hit hero shooter, won’t be enough to save the dying Blizzard franchise after an extended content drought ⁠— for both players and for streamers like him.

Muselk was still a decently-sized YouTuber before his Fortnite explosion. The game catapulted him to the top of the platform, but Watkins really made a name for himself playing Overwatch.

It took the YouTuber around the world, having captained the first Australian Overwatch World Cup team in 2016 (when the competition was more for fun than competitive).

“I remember going over and it being an incredible time,” he told Dexerto in an exclusive interview. “YouTube is pretty cool to make videos, but when you go to certain events and feel the energy, that’s special.

“It put me in a tough spot because they combined creators and pro players, so having the absolute best of the best of OW with a YouTuber who usually does dumb stuff was interesting ⁠— I felt for some of my teammates!”

He has a soft spot for Blizzard’s character-based shooter too, with its high-octane if somewhat confusing gameplay giving it plenty of charm. Cutting in and out of the chaos of a fight can be exhilarating as a player.

However, as a content creator, the game ran out of legs very quickly — and Overwatch 2 is unlikely to save it.

Why Muselk quit Overwatch

Muselk ended up moving to Fortnite full-time a couple of years after Overwatch’s release, just as the battle royale was taking off. It was perfect timing given the community was starting to grow disillusioned with a lack of content.

“The game ran out of steam,” he admitted. “That was the weirdest thing with the OW developers and what they’re doing. “I love the game but I found it very weird but after the first year they stopped adding any new content.”

Watkins admitted that he had done all he could do with what Blizzard gave him with Overwatch. No amount of community-driven workshop modes could fill the void ⁠— the lack of new heroes (Echo was the last one back in April 2020) and a slowdown in maps ahead of Overwatch 2’s release killed any interest in the base game.

There was more happening elsewhere, and as a creator he had to take the plunge to save his career.

“You’ve got a set number of lego blocks, and you can rebuild it in a certain number of ways, but you start back tracking on things you’ve done,” he explained.

• Read More: Muselk claims Epic “redefined gaming” with Fortnite releases

“That’s what happens when you do daily videos for a couple of years ⁠— I’ve done everything, there’s no video idea you haven’t already covered. That’s especially true in games like Overwatch when they never add content.”

Will Muselk return for Overwatch 2?

Still keenly interested in the franchise, Muselk will make a return for Overwatch 2. However, the fundamental flaws of the game still plague the sequel’s release. A lack of hype around multiplayer content and a rather linear campaign doesn’t leave much to the imagination.

At the end of the day, he will play Overwatch 2 for nostalgia’s sake ⁠— for a week, maybe two. But as a creator, it probably won’t lead to any long-term benefit unless Blizzard puts down the hammer and starts churning out content akin to other live-service games.

• Read More: Overwatch fans want a TV show and they’re already casting heroes

“Fundamentally if you look at Overwatch 2 it’s a campaign, but it doesn’t have a dynamic that you can do fun stuff for content with,” he said.

“The thing with Overwatch 2 is it’s so similar I’m sure I will go back for a week or two and have fun, but I think ultimately it’s going to end back at the same spot when you lose the highs. You’re playing the same game you’re playing 5 years ago, especially from a content standpoint.”

With delays still blowing out the game’s launch and no fresh content in the base title, Muselk firmly believes the longer Blizzard wait, the more the beloved FPS franchise will suffer.