Blizzard reveals Overwatch 2 will have ‘bigger PvP focus’ after Jeff Kaplan departure

Days after Jeff Kaplan’s sudden departure from Blizzard, new Overwatch Director Aaron Keller has revealed “exciting” plans for PVP in the upcoming sequel, with a bigger emphasis on the competitive side of the game moving forward.

As the face of the Overwatch team stepped down from his role at Blizzard, Keller was simultaneously announced as the new Director of the franchise on April 20. Settling into the role, Keller has now revealed a great deal about his approach to Overwatch 2 in a recent sit-down with Gamespot.

While the highly anticipated follow-up has placed a heavy emphasis on fresh PVE content in early demonstrations, Keller was quick to acknowledge the PVP community in his first interview.

“For me, Overwatch 2 [has] two halves to it,” he explained.

“I know we’ve spent a lot of time talking about the PVE side of the game. But the other side is just as important, if not more important.”

“We have 60 million players that love [the PVP] side of the game,” he acknowledged. As a result, the Overwatch team is well aware that they have to appeal to the competitive fanbase. In order to make the sequel’s PVP “as compelling as possible,” Keller revealed that he’s “very focused” on that side of the game.

“I want the game to be just as competitive, if not more so, on the PVP side. We have a lot of really exciting things that we’re doing to shake up the way PVP is played.”

It may be too early for specifics, though Keller teased a few of the ways Blizzard is hoping to accomplish its competitive goals. For starters, Overwatch 2 will “bring new game modes” for teams to battle through.

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We’ve already seen ‘Push’ in action, but from the sounds of it, fans can expect multiple new additions upon release. Outside of new core game modes, Keller hinted at “really interesting ways of playing.”

So while Blizzard’s spotlight has mostly been on the fleshed-out PVE experience in Overwatch 2, it’s clear that just as much, if not more effort is being put into the PVP aspect.

“What I’m hoping is that, going forward, Overwatch 2 can be played by a much broader section of the community.”

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There’s no release date in mind for the sequel just yet. However, you can keep up to date with all the latest Overwatch 2 info right here.